Is it the eggs? What’s Easter really about?

This weekend, many will gather with their families, and enjoy great meals and watch their kids hunt for Easter eggs and gorge themselves on to much candy. But what is the point of Easter? Is it just the eggs? What’s Easter all about? The Christian view of Easter is that it is a historical event that changes everything. Christians assert that after being killed by crucifixion, Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead, and that this historically event changes everything. Now, the sting of death is gone, and a whole new future lies before those who place their faith in Christ.

This seems like lunacy today, just as it did then. We often think that we’re a more advanced, enlightened culture than those in the past. But when you read the Bible, you realize no one was interested in believing it then either. But they had a problem, the facts were against them.

Here are the facts. On Easter morning, the tomb was empty. It was empty despite the fact that it was guarded by Roman soldiers; and as much as the authorities might have wanted to they couldn’t haul out Jesus’ rotting corpse because there wasn’t one to haul out.

Additionally, there were many eyewitnesses to the resurrection. One of the historical documents from the early church, 1 Corinthians, tells us that not only did the apostles see Jesus risen but that at one point after the resurrection 500 people saw him at one time. This was a letter to a whole church, a public document written somewhere between 15-30 years after the resurrection, and what St. Paul is basically saying is, “all these people who saw Jesus raised from the dead are still alive. You don’t have to trust me, you can go ask them”. He’s all but daring the readers to check the facts. He couldn’t do that unless most of these people were still alive.

 
Furthermore, there are the disciples changed live. This may be the greatest proof for the resurrection. When Jesus was arrested, his closest followers all fled and hid. How do these men who ran for their lives and hid end up preaching that Jesus is the savior of the world and telling everyone that he rose just weeks later? They saw the Jesus who said “I will die for all the sin and rebellion that you see, reconciling you to God if you place your faith in me and then rise from the dead to prove that I’ve paid the penalty”, risen. Apart from that, there is no logical reason to preach the gospel. Who suffers and eventually dies for something you know is a lie?

Everything about Easter says with one voice, it happened. Some will tell you that Easter is simply a symbol for death and renewal; that there is a circle of life, after death comes new life and after loss there is always gain. They point to nature, and say, “See the lesson of Easter, after winter there’s spring. From the death of the acorn comes a new tree. Therefore, we need to realize that there is always hope”. The problem is that this doesn’t line up with reality. Reality is that, as Tennyson wrote “Nature is red in tooth and claw”. In nature the strong eat the weak. The Easter bunny is a meal for the Coyote. The argument that Easter is just a symbol does an end run around your intellect, and is of little hope when you find yourself staring at a lost loved on, or a child in the ER.

But the Christian view of Easter is that God entered into the world, and changed history in the most counterintuitive way, he died on the cross as our substitute, and proved it by rising, and if you place your faith in Christ everything about your whole existence is changed. Your past is changed, your present is changed, and your future is changed. Everything changes. In the good and especially in the bad. In those moments of sorrow and hardship you can know there is hope because of what Christ did for you.

This Easter, my invitation to you is go to a church and hear about what God has done through Christ. He lived the life you should have lived, and died the death you should have died, and then he rose to show that everything is changed. I will be speaking about the death and resurrection of Jesus at First Baptist Church of Medfield, our service begins at 10:30am. I know there are many other churches that will be doing the same. Wherever you go, take the time this Easter to learn about what God has done for the world through the historical event that we celebrate as Easter.

Curse Motif of the Atonement, RC Sproul

He is risen, and that is glorious to behold

He is Risen. He is Risen indeed! The traditional call and response on easter is a wonderful declaration, one that always fires me up. He is Risen, He is Risen indeed! THis is the message that the gospel writers proclaimed, that the early church proclaimed, and that we still proclaim even to this day. He is RISEN! He is Risen indeed!

 

As we come to Easter, the declaration that He is Risen is a glorious, wonderful, awesome, overpowering thing to behold. It is an amazing truth that should grip our heart and warm us from the inside out because it says with a grand pronouncement, He has accomplished everything, because we could accomplish nothing, and we have to accomplish nothing, because he accomplished everything. It says, grace has been poured out on us, and declares that, as John Bunyan wrote “He wrestled with justice, that thou mightest have rest; He wept and mourned, that thou mightest laugh and rejoice; He was betrayed, that thou mightest go free; was apprehended, that thou mightest escape; He was condemned, that thou mightest be justified; and was killed, that thou mightest live; He wore a crown of thorns, that thou mightest wear a crown of glory; and was nailed to the cross, with His arms wide open, to show with what freeness all His merits shall be bestowed on the coming soul; and how heartily He will receive it into His bosom?”. Easter is glorious, because it is news that he accomplished everything he said he would , and while we may face pain, and tragedy, and suffering in this life, our sufferings are but for a time, our illnesses aren’t final, and in the end, as the apostle Paul wrote some 20years after the resurrection “we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).

 

As we gather together this easter season for worship on, lets celebrate Chrsit’s glorious work with Joy, and lets come preparerd to worship our risen savior, because he has shown great love for us. Lets invite our friends, and our families to gather and celebrate the joy that this brings, because it is finished! Christ, the resurrection and the life, is risen, and the result is that “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26).

Holy week, the resurrection, and us

Jesus birth literally divided history. The reason this fact is true is Holy week. From the jubilant triumphal entry, to the dark, heart breaking kiss of Judas, to the agonized cry of my God my God why have you forsaken me, to the moment that the veil of the temple tore in two, to the great moment of joy on the other side, the resurrection on Easter morning, it is holy week that tells you why this life mattered so much that it divided history. All of the gospel writers go to great pains to show you the importance of holy week. Over 30 percent of the gospels are devoted to this one week. Holy week is important. But what seals the deal on holy week is the resurrection. The resurrection is the signature moment when God revealed to the world that everything Jesus said about himself and his death, is true. Easter is that moment when the God demonstrated his power in an unparallel way, and showed the world that death was conquered, that Christ had  indeed triumphed over sin and evil, and that the world would someday be put right.
 

As we go through the month of March, and the weeks that lead up to holy week and Easter that Christians have traditionally called lent, I want to encourage you to think about five ways that this week impacts our lives as followers of Christ.

First, it means that our sin is paid for. On the cross, Christ paid for our sins. All our sin. Peter writes that “Christ died for our sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.(1Peter 3:18). That means all our rebellion, all our failure, all the cruelty, all the momentary indiscretion, all of it, every sin. Christ took it. He took our punishment, substituting himself before the wrath of God, while simultaneously giving his righteousness to those who look to him for salvation. This wonderful reality is what Luther called the great exchange. “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Second, we have no need to fear death. Jesus resurrection is the first fruits of the grave. He is in essence a down payment on what we all can look forward to, a glorious, renewed, perfected body. One with no aches, and pains, no tendency to sin, and mess up time and again, one that will be able to live in perfect relationship with God and others forever. With this in mind, we can say with Paul “"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Corinthains15:55-57).

Third, adoption as sons. Ephesians tells us that “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will (Ephesians 1:5)”. Galatians tells us that “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5). This is so often the overlooked treasure. We are not just saved from punishment. We are saved to something wonderful. Adoption. Now, because of what God has done through Christ, if we place our faith in Christ, we are his children. Adoption means that we have a new status. Before we were children of wrath. Now, our very status is changed, forever. This is incredible, and worth pondering. In Knowing God, Bible Scholar J.I. Packer notes that “The idea that all are children of God is not found in the Bible anywhere…” He’s absolutely right, it’s not. Instead it teaches that “the gift of sonship to God becomes ours not through being born, but through being born again. ‘To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or of a husband's will, but born of God.' (John.1:12-13)  Sonship to God, then, is a gift of grace” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, chap 19) .

This is an amazing truth. Have you stopped and pondered it lately?  Looking at it, Sinclair Ferguson, the Scottish Bible scholar observed, “If we fail to see this truth, we will reject the power of our adoption… The notion that we are children of God, His own sons and daughters… is the mainspring of Christian living… Our sonship to God is the apex of Creation and the goal of redemption.” ( Sinclair Ferguson, Children of the Living God). Do you rejoice in this reality? This is the jackpot. There is no greater effect on you here and now than this, and how you view this truth, says so much about your walk with God.  J.I. Packer adds, “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how he much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. [Adoption] is the highest privilege the gospel offers (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, chap 19). Adoption is the jackpot, don’t miss it.

Fourth, living for the glory of God strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit. We were created to live for the glory of God, but if you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you know that this is just about impossible on our own strength. On our own we do everything but live for the glory of God. But now, the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is living in us, through the Holy Spirit. Now, though the work of the Holy Spirit, it becomes possible for us to glorify God. Before, it was impossible, but now, as Paul writes “you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code (Romans 7:4-6).

Finally, we can be sure that God keeps his promises. This is simple, but amazing. God made promises to his people about the messiah, and he made promises to us as his children. His promises about the messiah, his son Jesus Christ, were kept, at a terrible cost. The cost of the death of Christ. If he kept promises about the messiah, Christ, which cost him everything, how much more, having paid that cost, will he be willing to keep his promises to you, to us, his children. Surely He will keep promises to love us, care for us, watch over us, do what’s best for us.  Sometimes that feels like pain. Sometimes it involves discipline, but it means that no mater what, we can trust him and be sure that he keeps his promises.

During Lent and the weeks leading up to Holy Week and Easter, stop and ponder what it all means to for you, personally. Stop and ponder the death and resurrection and be heartened by all that it means. Consider what they mean in your life, and allow yourself to be encouraged, chastened, and called to a life lived for the glory of God. 

Additionally, I would encourage you to plan on coming to Holy week services. We will be having a Maundy Thursday service at 7:30 on the 28^th, and then we will be having a Sunrise service on Easter morning at 6:30. This is tentatively scheduled for the Wheelock field. The location will be announced when confirmed. Then, we will be having our Easter morning celebration at 10:30. Plan on coming, plan on pondering the implications of the cross and resurrection. Plan on inviting friends to these services, and plan on sharing the hope of the gospel with them. Easter is the super bowl of the Christian Calendar. If Christmas is opening day at Fenway, Easter is the Super Bowl. Plan on coming, and plan celebrating all that God has done through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

From the Newsletter: God at work at First Baptist

This month, I want to talk about a few things that are exciting me. It’s easy to get discouraged at times. Over the last several months, it’s been one illness and struggle after another around the church. But, God is working. Make no mistake, he is working. There have been some awesome things happening, and rather than teaching or highlighting something we need to work on, I want to just stop and invite you to marvel at a few of the things that God has been doing in the last several months. Things that have excite and encouraged me, and I hope do the same for you.

First, A baptism. Last week, Rob Guinen was baptized. Baptism is an act of obedience and a public commitment to Christ. Whenever you have a baptism, it’s a moment worthy of celebration.

 

Second, God has been raising up followers of Christ who are actively seeking to grow in Christ. Along with seeing people connect to the gospel and commit to following Christ, seeing people seek to become deep disciples; seeing people seek to put down roots and grow as followers of Christ, absolutely thrills me. Lately, I have seen many signs of this. The Sunday morning group that is working through the Bible together this year has come together organically. It was a bottom up initiative. It wasn’t something that I decided “we need to do this”. It was Pam’s idea. Something God laid on her heart, She has been the catalyst, and the result of God laying this on her heart is that there is one more place in the church where scripture is being discussed, thought through, and applied. Hallelujah! Along with this, there is Sunday morning prayer time- which you should be at if you can. Again, this was not from me. It is an initiative that came from Dennis. There has been an active interest in the coming marriage class. All these things excite me. It’s people saying, I want to do this to grow, and help others grow.

Remember, discipleship is not something that is passive. Its something you take an active role in. James Emmory White, the former president of GCTS, notes that “It’s a common phrase in Christian circles. We talk of “discipling” someone, “being” discipled, or going where there is a strong emphasis on discipleship.” But he says that something is wrong with this picture. “the language itself puts the entire emphasis on someone, or something, “doing” discipleship “to” someone else. The one being discipled is seemingly passive… discipleship is something “received.” But that is not the idea of discipleship in the Bible. The word “disciple” is from the Greek word “mathetes” and literally means “learner.” …That puts the action firmly into the lap of the one doing the learning...you, as a disciple, are to be actively learning. It is your responsibility to take up the mantle of self-development… growing in faith is something that can be served by others, but ultimately must be owned personally by ourselves. As a pastor, I can only feed you so much. If you live on one meal a week, two meals a week, you starve. I see people that are self feeding, they are actively seeking to grow as disciples of Christ, and help others grow. That excites me.

Third, Younger leaders are emerging. Pam Cutler is leading the discussion time for those that are reading through the Bible together, and she recently presented the idea of the women retreat this spring. Cari Teague is doing yeoman’s work leading the Sunday school team. Stephanie Lord is taking a leading role in worship (which, if you’ve heard me sing, you know is a Godsend). Dennis Ericson is leading the Sunday morning prayer time. One of the key things that this church needs is a for God to raise up a new generation of leaders. Dan Nye gently reminded me that we have to develop new leaders a few months back, and he’s completely right. . This has been made even more clear as we have coped with Al’s absence. With so many of our longtime leadership aging, we need to see a new group to be raised up. Pray that God raises up a new generation of gospel centered leaders who will lead the congregation well as we seek to glorify God and impact our community for Christ. But lets celebrate what God has done already. He has begun raise up a new generation of leaders. That thrills me.

These are a couple of things that have excited and encouraged me over the last few months. What’s stood out to you? What have you noticed? Make no mistake. God is at work. As we continue in this new year, lets rejoice in all that God is doing here at First Baptist.

From the Newsletter: Bowling Alone and Living as a United Church Family

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. Psalm 133:1-3

British preacher Charles Spurgeon once said that “wherever it can be said of an assembly, ‘the Lord is there’ unity will be created and fostered. Show me a church that quarrels, a church that is divided with personal ambitions, contrary doctrines, and opposing schemes, and I am sure that the Lord is not there”. As wise as Spurgeon was, I think this is one of his finest insights. If we say that the Lord is there, and we are marked by division, then something is wrong. When trouble or hardship comes, when things are said that we regret, when mistakes are made, what do we do, do we point fingers and blame, or do we move against each other? In the past, this has happened; both here, and in many other Baptist churches. No denomination is more known for fragmenting than us Baptists. We are known for fighting and splitting over everything, from the color of a rug, to who looked at who funny. But here’s the thing, sometimes, we lack unity for another reason. Sometimes, it’s just that we don’t get to know and understand each other well, or have the same focus and goal. Sometimes the issue is that what was once a integral part of the church for one generation doesn’t attract or even make sense to the next. Sometimes, the issue is that the church reflects the trends of the culture around it, and act with the same unfettered, self focused, radical individualism of our culture, to our shame.

When we look around, we see a society that reflects unfettered, self focused radical individualism, and the result is that we live in an increasingly fragmented society, a society that struggles to understand each other, a society that struggles to get along. All you have to do is watch Washington. It doesn’t matter what the issue is, it seems consensus can’t be reached over anything. Each wants what it wants. And this fragmentation is happening in every area of our society, as people are pulling further and further away from each other.

In 1995, Sociologist Robert Putnam put his finger on this fragmentation in his book, Bowling Alone, when he said"Television, two-career families, suburban sprawl, generational changes in values--these and other changes in American society have meant that fewer and fewer of us find that the League of Women Voters, or the United Way, or the Shriners, or the monthly bridge club, or even a Sunday picnic with friends fits the way we have come to live. Our growing social-capital deficit threatens educational performance, safe neighbourhoods, equitable tax collection, democratic responsiveness, everyday honesty, and even our health and happiness."  Through this book, Putnam uses a mountain of data to show just how fragmented we are becoming, as he charts the grievous deterioration over the past two generations of the organized ways in which people relate to one another and partake in civil life in the U.S. For example, in 1960, 62.8% of Americans of voting age participated in the presidential election, whereas by 1996, the percentage had slipped to 48.9%. here’s another one, this one, painfully close to home. While most Americans still claim a serious "religious commitment," church attendance is down roughly 25%-50% from the 1950s, and the number of Americans who attended public meetings of any kind dropped 40% between 1973 and 1994. Even the once stable norm of community life has shifted: one in five Americans moves once a year, while two in five expect to move in five years. Putnam claims that this has created a U.S. population that is increasingly isolated and less empathetic toward its fellow citizens, that is often angrier and less willing to unite in communities or as a nation. "Americans are right that the bonds of our communities have withered," Putnam writes, "and we are right to fear that this transformation has very real costs." Putnam concludes his analysis with a concise set of potential solutions, such as educational programs, work-based initiatives and funded community-service programs. He offers a ray of hope in what he sees as a dire situation.

 

I don’t know if his solutions are the right solutions on a cultural level, I think that more is needed. I think only a deep, landscape altering revival of gospel centered Christianity will do the job. But he’s on to something big, and thinking about the issue as it pertains to the church, this is a problem, both in our church, and in the body of Christ at large. We reflect this fragmentation. And it’s not just us. The issue of fragmentation is hitting many churches. 

I was speaking with one of my mentors, and he said that unity is one of the biggest challenges of our era. The focus of the church, the direction of the church, the role of the church, the way people interact with the church and the church community, is all shifting in this postmodern, electronic age, and we are having to figure things out by diving into the Bible and re-examining how the Bible speaks to this cultural setting. What idols does it hit? What things does it say to us as we seek to follow Christ here and now as we live through this period of cultural transition?

One thing I know is that in this time, more than any time in our memory, we must be intentional about fostering unity; unity in mission, and as a church community. Now, that’s a word I have not used much. Community. When I was in college, I heard the word community thrown around till I got sick of it. all the resident life people talked about was community. It was a huge mantra. And I got numb to it, and came to disdain it. But in retrospect, I think they were on to something. Community doesn’t just happen. The church is to be a distinct, deep specific type of community, a family. That doesn’t happen easily. But it’s something that we must aim for. When we have unity as the people of God, when we know each other more, when we seek to have a shared mission and vision in life, and are involved in each other’s day to day lives, we are less likely to be divided by things like personal ambition, contrary doctrines, and the like. We are less likely to fragment, to follow the well worn Baptist paths, and the path of our culture. We are less likely to break up over little things, or no reason at all. We are less likely to lose track of each other. And we are more likely to seek each other’s good, to choose to love, to disagree to disagree about the little things, and to seek the glory of God and the furthering of his kingdom together.

 

So what’s the source of our unity? Is it just unity for unity’s sake. Community for community sake. No! It centers in the gospel. The gospel leads to unity and community. Christ’s life, death and resurrection changes our life. It makes us one body, one family, one in Christ. Apart from Christ, and his finished work we have no unity. We’re too fragmented, to different, but in Christ, Jew, gentile, slave, free, man, woman, all are one in Christ. And this should lead to two things. Shared life, and shared foundation and focus. 

First, it leads to shared life.  As Christians, we are to be sharing life together. More than just going to church on Sunday, but really getting involved in each other’s lives, spending time together. Visiting with each other, having meals together as a church family, checking in on one another, asking each other “how’s your walk with God”. Its spending life together in large gathered groups of Christians, and in smaller, scattered groups, meeting as smaller segments of the church family. It’s spending time together, and serving alongside each other on projects that further the gospel, projects around the church, and projects that help each other out, as we seek to obey the word of God and bear one another’s burdens in love.

But it not only leads to shared life; second, and far more importantly, it leads to shared foundation and focus. The gospel plants us all on the same foundation. Christ. He is the source of all unity. He gives us a new identity, in himself. He gives us a new mission. Our mission is found in his mission, in furthering his kingdom and righteousness, in bringing Glory to God, and bringing his peace to the world around. The gospel gives us a shared foundation and focus. Think of all that scripture says about unity. In Philippians, Paul says, in contrast with the pagan world around that was focused on self pleasure and the world around, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers...stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers." (Phi 3:20-4:3)       

In Ephesians he writes, "Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism;one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:1-,6, 11-20)

Notice some things from those passages. We are citizens of heaven, not of this fragmented world. We are to agree in the lord. If we can’t agree for any other reason on things, agree in the lord. And we are to make every effort to keep unity in Christ. And it’s a unity that is rooted in Christ, one lord, one faith, one baptism. It’s not in some nebulous sense of unity, or community, or peace. We are to have unity, community, life together as the family of God, because we have a new identity as followers of Christ, as people who have been called to one hope; hope in Christ. Because of that we are one. And notice three things. First, the gifts God gives are for the unity of the body so that we will mature as a community, as people who have knowledge of the Son and have the full measure of the fullness of Christ. Second, we are not to be schemers, instead, we are to speak the truth in love as we grow into him who is the head, Christ. Third, see what flows from that. We grow into Christ, and from him support comes, and the result is love, love for each other, as each part does its work.

And it's not just Paul that says this. Peter jumps in on the action as well, writing in First Peter, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9). His unique contribution to the subject is this reminder that unity requires us to act in love even when we’ve been wronged. As Christians, you are called to forgive and show love when wronged, remembering that Christ forgave you,. And the early church was known for this. The church father Tertullian writes that the statement of those around the church was, “look how they love one another”.

The gospel gives us true unity, love filled unity. Unity rooted and grounded in Christ. Now here’s the issue, ultimately. The desire of the Lord is for his church to be united. It doesn’t matter what’s going on around us, he wants us to be united. We are to be a counterculture marked by unity. In his great high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prays for his disciples, and for those who will believe in him through their word, praying “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me”.

When the church is united, when we stand together in unity, it is a powerful expression to the world of what the gospel does, and a wonderful experience of life in the kingdom of God. When we are fragmented, when we don’t have unity, we fail to live out the gospel, we damage our witness to the world around, and we miss out on something wonderful. We’re making progress. I see many signs of unity. I see some signs of disunity. we’ve got allow done, and we have miles to go. My hope and prayer is that 2013 be a year where we make many strides towards keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, as we connect to the gospel, grow in the gospel, serve from the gospel, share the gospel, and are together changed by the gospel.

Now, one final thought. it’s not enough for me to write something like this. A big data dump, and it’s over, thank God. My hope for things I write, is that they will create discussion. Talk about this with each other. We are going through momentous changes as a culture, and we feel them in the church. How are we uniting and failing to unite. What piece of this article stands out to you ? What piece do you find yourself most challenged by? What piece of the article do you identify with the most? What things have I missed. What are the areas that we don’t have unity, and how can we really truly work through these things? What steps can you take to grow closer to those in your church family? Talk about these things, talk about them with those you are closest with, and pick a couple of people that you are not with, people from a different generation, people that you don’t know as well, and share your thoughts. Talk about it, and lets seek to grow together in unity for the glory of God.

Calvin on the Confidence and Delight that the Lords Supper brings

I'm preaching on the Last supper this Sunday, nearing the end of the book of Mark, and as I was preparing for the sermon, I came across this quote by Calvin in the Institutes that is worth pondering.

“Pious souls can derive great confidence and delight from this sacrament, as being a testimony that they form one body with Christ, so that everything which is His they may call their own. 

Hence it follows that we can confidently assure ourselves that eternal life, of which He Himself is the heir, is ours, and that the kingdom of heaven, into which He has entered, can no more be taken from us than from Him; on the other hand, that we cannot be condemned for our sins, from the guilt of which He absolves us, seeing He has been pleased that these should be imputed to Himself as if they were His own.

This is the wondrous exchange made by His boundless goodness. Having become with us the Son of Man, He has made us with Himself sons of God. By His own descent to the earth He has prepared our ascent to heaven. Having received our mortality, He has bestowed on us His immortality. 

Having undertaken our weakness, He has made us strong in His strength. Having submitted to our poverty, He has transferred to us His riches. Having taken upon Himself the burden of unrighteousness with which we were oppressed, He has clothed us with His righteousness.

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 4.17.2.

 

Think about what he's saying. We are made one with Christ, becasue of his glorious work, and that comes with enormeous blessings. Ponder that, and then rejoice in that. 

A Learning Community

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

I recently came across a quote by David Wells, one of my professors at Gordon Conwell. He has long lamented the decline of the church in America, and sought to diagnose the issue. One of his diagnosis is that we are not people who think, who reflect, who study, and that has led to our decline, as we have not been people of the book. This quote, from his book, The Courage to be Protestant, struck a nerve with me.

“Christianity is described as the faith, the truth, the pattern of sound words, the traditions, the sound doctrine, and what was delivered in the beginning. This is what the apostles taught, it is what they believed, it is what they “delivered” to the church, it is what is “entrusted” to the church. Christians are those who “believe” this teaching, who “know” it, who “have” it, who “stand” in it, and who are “established” in it. The New Testament letters were written to remind believers about their responsibilities in relation to this teaching, this faith that has been delivered to the church in its final and completed form. The apostles, we read, write to “remind” them of it, urge them to “pay close attention” to it, to “stand firm” in it, to “follow” it, to “hold” onto it, to “guard” it as one might a precious jewel, and to contend earnestly for this truth. Can we see the most basic point here? It is that the church in its earliest days was a learning community. What it was learning was the ways of God, his character, his acts, through the truth he had given and was giving them. This they knew was indispensable for a life of obedience in this world. By contrast, all of this is conspicuous by its absence in much of the contemporary evangelical church. Knowledge of the Bible ranks low in how the born-again judge themselves. And the preaching of the Bible’s truth has all but disappeared from many churches. We are today walking away from what we see modeled for us in the book of Acts as God’s will for the church.” (David Wells The Courage to Be Protestant, 84-85).

As we face another year, and prepare for all that comes, my prayer for us is that we will be people who seek to be people of the word. My prayer is that we will be a learning community. People who seek to grow deeper and deeper in the gospel throughout this year. This year, we will be seeking to learn the new city catechism as a church. We will be having studies, to seek to grow as followers of Christ. After the Super Bowl, on Sunday evenings, we will be having a marriage class, primarily using “The Meaning of Marriage” by Tim and Kathy Keller. Later in the spring, after that wraps up, we will have another Sunday evening study, and read through a little book called “What is a Healthy Church?”, by Mark Dever. We will continue to have Bible studies on Wednesday nights. And, we will seek to be applying the world to our lives, as we continue to grow as followers of Christ in the coming year. My hope is that we will be a learning community. A united, gospel centered, learning community that seeks the glory of God in 2013.

The Incarnataion: Odd Thomas

As we stand on the Eve of Christmas, check out Odd Thomas on the Incarnation.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas. For those of you that went as crazy hunting for the lyrics to this song as I did, the lyrics are below, thanks to Mike Sullivan at the Gospel Alliance.

 

 

 

 

“What good is the Christmas story if it’s void of God and His glory?

What’s the worth of the words ‘peace on earth’ if it’s not rooted in the Truth of Christ’s birth?

What benefit is it for us to discuss the joy of the season unless we fix our hearts and minds on the principal reason that Christ has atoned for us?

See Christmas is more than just a story of a baby born in a manger,

More than a poor fiancé engaged to a humble virgin teenager,

More than a Magi, more than gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It’s more than a narrative of a Nativity scene, it was so much more that occurred.

It’s the coming of the Messiah, the fulfillment of all Old Testament promises,

The prophecy of the suffering Servant and all of His accomplishments,

The second Person of the Trinity commissioned to abandon His position,

And literally set aside the independent exercise of His attributes in full submission,

The Word manifested in the flesh, the fullness of God expressed,

The self-emptying Jesus poured out at the Father’s request,

The image of the invisible God, the radiance of the Father’s fame,

Holy, but retained His humanness to empathize with our pain.

He was unjustly crushed, chastised, cursed and shamed,

Mocked and adorned with a crown of thorns, disgraced but He still faced the grave,

To fulfill the Father’s will, to come and die in the place of sinful men,

And receive the fully fury of God’s judgment upon Himself instead,

The most monumental mark for mankind made in human history,

Wretched sinners being made righteous only by the wounds of the risen King,

The condescending of a holy God made in the likeness of men,

A child born to be the Savior that would save the world from their sins,

The offspring of the virgin’s womb,

The Christ, God’s own Son, fully God, yet fully man, the only theanthropic One.

This is what we celebrate, Christ the newborn King, veiled in flesh, the Godhead seen,

Hailed incarnate Deity.”

Advent Reading: Christ

Here in the week before Christmas, I am posting the advent Readings that we have been using this year at First Baptist Church. Here is the fnal reading that I have written, it is the reading for the Christ Candle to be lit on Christmas Eve.

 

Leaders: In the season of Advent we have used the Advent wreath and its candles to focus our minds on the truth that Christ will return in glory, and to help us get ready for this great celebration of the birth of Christ, the light of the world. Today, we light all the candles of the Advent wreath. We light the candle for HOPE because Jesus is our ultimate source of hope. We light the candle for peace because Jesus is our prince of peace. We light the candle for joy because Jesus brings everlasting joy. We light the candle for love because Jesus is God’s love incarnate. Lastly we light the Christ candle, as we celebrate the wonderful reality that Jesus the Christ, the light of the world, our glorious redeeming savior, is born

 

People: As we light the candles, we celebrate the birth of Christ, the light of the world, rejoicing in the incarnation of our Savior and Lord, and anticipating his glorious return. As we do this, we remember:

[Light all five candles]

 

Leaders: We remember the that in Christ, the infinite became finite, the one who was in very nature God, the holiest of holies, the sovereign light of the world and the one in whom the fullness of deity dwells, took on flesh and came as a helpless babe. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, holy God made flesh

 

People: We remember our need for a Savior who will redeem us from our sins, and that in Christ, God’s promise is fulfilled. Christ is born! We have complete victory through the birth of Christ. Eternal victory is ours both now and forever because of Christ! He alone is our ultimate source of hope, peace, joy, and love in this life, and the next. He is the savior of the world to whom all scripture points. Someday, he wills come again and bring us to his kingdom to enjoy life with him forever.

 

Leaders: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

 

People: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.(John 1:1-5, 9-13)

 

Leaders: Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth. (Isaiah 42:1-4)

 

People: he people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2,6)

 

Leaders: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. (John 8:12. Ps 145:3-4)

 

People: As we remember Christ’s birth, and anticipate Christ’s Glorious return, may God fill our hearts with His light and life.

 

Together: Great God of love and light, who revealed your light gloriously through the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we light these advent candles, remembering His birth and anticipating His return, we thank you that the light of life has entered our broken world to bring victory over evil, suffering, and death. Fill us now with the light of your love, so that we may live for your glory, and as we rejoice in the birth of your son, may we worship him, welcome him, and make room for him in our hearts. O come, let us adore him! Amen!

Advent Reading: Love

Here in the week before Christmas, I am posting the advent Readings that we have been using this year at First Baptist Church. Here is Love.

 

Leaders: Advent is a word that means “coming” or “visit”. In the Christian season of Advent, we prepare for the “advent” of Christ at Christmas. This morning, we continue to light the advent candles as we move towards Christmas and the birth of Christ, Holy God made flesh.

 

People: As we light the candles, we continue our journey to Christmas, in anticipation of celebrating his birth, and in anticipation of the day when our loving savior will return in glory.

[Light three purple candles, and one pink candle.]

Leaders: Today we re-light the candles of hope, peace, and joy. Now, we light the candle of love, and as we do, we remember:

 

People: We remember that Christ alone is our ultimate source of hope, peace, joy, and love, and that he is God’s perfect love incarnate.

 

Leaders: We remember Gods promise to Israel of a loving messiah who will demonstrate Gods love completely, and rejoice that God demonstrated his perfect love in the sending his Son, Jesus Christ.

 

People: We remember our need for a Savior who will save us from our sins, and bring the love of God into our lives.

 

Leaders: We remember that Christ demonstrated self-giving love in his ministry as the Good Shepherd. Advent is a time for kindness, thinking of others, and sharing with others. It is a time to love as God loved us by giving us his most precious gift. As God is love, we are also to love.

 

People: We remember that out of darkness light shines. The true light of life whose love overcame darkness, and whose love is our light, both now and forevermore.

 

Leaders: Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. (Psalm 33:18-20)

 

People: The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.(Zephaniah 3:17-18) God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:5-8) No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. (John 15:13)  

 

Leaders: God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt. 22:39) I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.(John 13:34-35) We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

 

People: As we remember Christ’s birth, and anticipate Christ’s Glorious return, may God fill our hearts with His love.

 

Together: Redeeming God, who revealed your love to humble servants like Mary and Joseph, and demonstrated your love through the life, death, and resurrection of your son, as we light these advent candles, remembering his birth, and anticipating his return, we ask that you teach us to love, may we know and grow in your love. May our hearts be filled with your love, a love for each other as a church, and a love for the world around, and may we demonstrate your love in such a way that the world may see our love and glorify our father who is in heaven. Amen!

 

 

 

 

Here are the sources that I used to generate ideas, in addition to the advent readings that the church had used for the last several years, which came from an article called What to expect when your expecting: six service plans for advent and Christmas. An series of Advent readings by Mark Roberts of Pathoes. An article by from Reformed worship called, I'm Waiting: A thoughtfull appraoch to using the advent wreath in worship. An Advent devotional guide done by Covenant Presbyterian Church in Chicago, and most helpfully, a  sereis on Advent Readings and Lightings done by Mike Milton of Reformed Theological Seminary.