My 5/13/12AM (Mother’s Day) sermon from Hebrews 11:13-16 is now online. It was entitled Faith’s Homeland and dealt with faith and the future. Specifically, faith prepares for the future by persevering in the present. Part of this perseverance means we confess that we are strangers and exiles here. Why? Because faith seeks a homeland, specifically, a heavenly one. So, we persevere in the present with our eye on eternity. This has all kinds of applications for mothers, daughters, women, men, sons and fathers, as well as anyone else. We shrink our lives to the here and now and put that in an ultimate category. But, in Christ, we have reason to hope for the future. Faith’s homeland is eternity with Christ in heaven. Let’s live this week in light of this.
Strangers, Aliens, Home
This coming Sunday, we hope to look at Hebrews 11:13-16. One of the big arguments of this passage has to do with people, in faith, calling themselves strangers and aliens on earth and, in doing so, “make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.” To be a stranger somewhere means that there is somewhere that is not so strange. To be an alien, means that there is somewhere you are at home.
We are pretty hung up on being home. We love the comforts, conveniences, security and familiarity it provides. So, when we are in a “strange” place that feels like home, we call it our home away from home. Home Sweet Home. What does that mean? Only that there is a place that is home.
How we live in this world and view it says a lot about our faith. Come this Sunday, then, as we explore a life of faith and its future look affects your life in the here and now.
Fallin’ by Trip Lee
I’ve had this song, Fallin’, by Trip Lee on repeat today because I resonate so much with this fight for sin he highlights. Here’s a link his latest album, The Good Life: Amazon
If you feel condemned in your sin, know that God sent His Son, Jesus, to the cross and your sin can be forgiven in Him. You can be set free from this. You can go from being mastered by sin to mastering it through the amazing power of the Gospel. This is reflected in these lyrics.
The lyrics go like this:
I don’t really want it but it’s calling my name
“William come and get me I can take away the pain
Come a little closer you got everything to gain”
But I got too much to lose I’m bout to go insane
I been here too many times got my head low
If I gave a dime for every time I’d be dead broke
I feel that battle in my soul the pressure closing in
My passions askin for a passing I can’t hold it in
There I go again no self control again I’m too good at givin in
Feelin like throwin in the towel the guilt is closin in
Sometimes I climb the heights but I’m at my lowest sin
Cloaked in deception and overdosin on potent sin
I’m so gone baby wanna be home again
Wanna feel whole again come feel this hole again
Now I’m doubled over with my face in my knees
At Your side is where I wanna be
But there I go again fallin’
Face to the pavement
Once again faced with the same sin
(There I go again fallin’)
I don’t think Ima make it
Don’t know how much longer I can take it
(There I go again fallin’)
I’m caught up in this sin
I wonder if I’ll see Your face again
(There I go again fallin’)
Fallin’ (3x)
(But there I go)
Trying to keep it cool I don’t wanna lead em playin
But it’s hard to block out everything that she be sayin
Look like it keep coming baby just reach out and take my hand
There’s no need to fear me all I wanna do is dance
I believe the lie now I’m headed for my doom
They finally got me locked and now I’m bout to be there soon
Feeling like I’m watched by everybody in the room
Cause they know Ima fake and if not they will soon
Have you ever felt like the walls finna close in
Shackles on your hands and your feet and your dozin
Sleep to the logic you possessed before all of the mess
So beheaded mess with the rest what’s left
Is a schizophrenic still what a man once was?
Now you get to see the damage your lust does
So now I’m doubled over with my face in the knees
At Your side is where I wanna be
But there I go again fallin’
Face to the pavement
Once again faced with the same sin
(There I go again fallin’)
I don’t think Ima make it
Don’t know how much longer I can take it
(There I go again fallin’)
I’m caught up in this sin
I wonder if I’ll see Your face again
(There I go again fallin’)
Falling (3x)
(But there I go)
Everytime I fall He go’n pick me up
The Lord is my shepherd homie He go’n pick me up
I fell into the trap again but He go’n pick me up
Remind me of His promises in Him I put my trust
I don’t never have to give into the lies
I’m feasting on His word all my sin I do despise
So now I’m down before His throne praying on my knees
Asking Lord give me grace please
I don’t wanna be fallin’
So I gotta face this but I know there’s nothing that He can’t fix
(I don’t wanna be fallin’)
Looking to the cross where they place Him
Cause I know His grace is amazing
(I don’t wanna be fallin’)
He’s covered all my sin
It’s gone never to be seen again
So we’re callin’
Callin’ (3x)
(Unto You)
Here’s the music video recently released:
Weekend Recap – Trusting God In The Impossible…
My sermon from 5/6/12AM is online. The sermon was entitled Faith Trusts God In The Impossible from Hebrews 11:11-12. The sermon unpacked the second big foundational, formational event of Abraham’s life (last week’s being the call to move to a land God would show him and this week focused on the barrenness of Sarah and God’s promise of offspring). God overcame an impossible situation (as we humans see it at least) to keep His promise to Abraham. Both Abraham and Sarah believed God in the midst of this and, as Romans 4:19-22 points out, it was credited to them as righteousness. The righteous truly live by faith.
I hope people who heard this message found their faith inspired to trust God in the midst of their impossible situations of life. Let’s be characterized by having faith in God.
Hope Against Hope or…
Faith Trusts God in the Impossible or at least that’s what Hebrews 11:11-12 would have us understand. This coming Lord’s Day, we will be looking at this passage and the faith that Sarah exhibited and God rewarded (He is a rewarder, after all, of those who believe that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him). Here’s how Ligon Duncan explains the thrust of this week’s passage:
We’re told [in this passage] that Sarah by faith become the mother of the faithful. What that passage is saying is Sarah’s saving faith was the instrument by which the line of promise was continued. That promise would ultimately lead to the Lord Jesus Christ. But she believed even though physically there was no argumentation as to whether she would be able to have a child. Humanly speaking, this was hope against hope. But again, God’s Word came and said that through Sarah, Abram would have descendants whose numbers would be innumerable. So Abram’s wife believed. Here again she had to trust in something that she did not live to see. The author [of Hebrews] continually points us to the future hope which is ours.
There are times when we have to weigh what God has said against what we can see with our eyes. Faith is letting God’s promise hold weight. We live in light of that. Hope this helps you thirst for more of God in His Word. Join us this Sunday.
VBS Isn’t Just For Kids…
Here’s an article I wrote for our church’s newsletter…
There was a day when Saturday morning cartoons were a reality for some of us. One of the staple commercials you could count on was that silly rabbit trying to get a bowl of Trix, which always ended with the children chiding the rabbit and saying, “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids.” I fear that when it comes to thinking about Vacation Bible School, many in the church have that same feeling. We hear about ministry opportunities and say to ourselves, “VBS is for kids.” And, while it may be true that much of the energy is directed to serving children, I’m hoping to show today that VBS isn’t just for kids. There’s much benefit to be had by the church at large through VBS. Here’s some reasons:
1) VBS helps bring people together in service. Most of us know that the law can be summed up as loving our neighbor as ourselves. We know that we are to, through love, serve one another. And, VBS is a great opportunity to come together with other like-minded believers and serve. This, in turn, helps build the unity of our congregation. When you are “in the trenches” with another believer seeking to serve, you will begin to be drawn close to that individual. This is what makes the church strong.
2) VBS builds consistency in your relationships with others. VBS is a week-long event. So, rather than just bumping into others in our church on a Sunday, you get the opportunity to fellowship with others day after day. Each night will present its own opportunities to glorify God and your consistent involvement in this will encourage you spiritually.
3) VBS looks outward. Much of our difficulty in the church comes when we are inward focused. We can become so intent on what we want and we would like to see happen, that our joy becomes tied to whether or not our desires are happening. Each year, however, VBS is a call to remind you that church life doesn’t revolve around you. There are others who need served. Specifically, we get the opportunity to serve children.
4) VBS communicates love for our neighbors who are younger than us. When you think about church life, you probably devote most of your energy to things that don’t involve children (unless you’re a parent of a child and/or involved in an ongoing ministry to them). What I love about VBS is that it gives adults and teenagers the opportunity to show children how dearly loved they are. We rightly feel this in our hearts. But, VBS puts feet to those feelings, showing children that we are excited to make known eternal truths to them. VBS allows us to tangibly love not just in words but in actions and truth.
Finally, 5) VBS allows you to practice a spiritual gift. Most of us know the importance of exercise or at least moving around so that atrophy doesn’t occur. God has uniquely gifted every believer in the church to serve. How often do you use those gifts? Are you looking for an opportunity to use a gift you don’t use as often as another? VBS is a great way to jump in and serve, employing your spiritual gift for the good of others.
So, those are a few reasons why I would encourage you to be involved in our VBS, June 10-14. There is more info on it in other parts of the Edifier. VBS isn’t just for kids, it’s for people like you and me who want to be a part of something that glorifies and enjoys God, forever.
Faith’s Obedience and Look
My sermon from 4/29/12AM was entitled Faith’s Obedience and Look and came from Hebrews 11:8-10. This got to help in our faith from the example of Abraham. Throughout the Bible, Abraham and faith go together, so it made sense in this chapter showcasing faith in the Bible, we would find Abraham. Our writer wants us to learn that faith is how the righteous live, or, in this context, it is how we persevere in this world.
Abraham gave us a lot of help by showing us how an active faith is tied to immediate obedience. Believing God is who He is should cause us to obey Him and what’s He revealed to us in His Word. Further, faith has a look to it. Faith is consumed with eternity. If there’s ever anyone in the Bible who could have rested in a promise, it would have been Abraham, but Hebrews 11:9-10 showed us that Abraham lived in the promised land as a foreigner because he was looking to a future promised by God Himself. There are many applications for us in this passage, then. I hope you were helped by it and live this week with a faith that displays itself by obeying and looking heavenward.
Gospel-Centered Spiritual Formation
Being devoted to centering my life in the Gospel and seeking to be defined by nothing less has been an amazing journey for me over the past few years. It probably began when I became a Senior Pastor, preaching each week, trying to shepherd a hurting church through some difficult days and I kept coming back to the message of first importance. I attended the first Together For the Gospel in 2006 and something resonated with me. It was at this point I set out to preach through Mark’s Gospel, then Colossians and am currently in Hebrews. Through these expositions, I’ve come to love and appreciate the core truth of my faith, the Gospel, more than ever. Whether it’s the pure words of Jesus explaining who He is and what He came to do or the Apostle Paul demonstrating how Jesus’ supremacy looms large in all of life or the writer of Hebrews showing that in all the Bible there is none quite as majestic as the Divine Son, Jesus has become the point of my preaching and ministry.
In light of this truth, I often press home the fact that God’s not impressed with our religious devotion. It’s not our practice of spiritual disciplines that determines our spiritual status, that is reserved for the Gospel alone. I’ve been really helped in recent days, then, by Tim Brister (there might not be a more Gospel-centered writer on in the internet) and his musings on Gospel-Centered Spiritual Formation.
Here’s the graphic he’s posted to whet your appetite:
This understanding flows from Triperspectivalism (the three fold offices of Christ, prophet, priest and king). So far, the posts include:
I dare you, therefore, to wade out into the Gospel and watch it fire your devotion to our God Himself.
Weekend Recap – Collision Course on Inescapable Headship
On Sunday PM, 4/22/12, our Men met to discuss issues of manhood. We watched a video entitled Inescapable Headship. Here it is:
Here’s a transcript:
Scott Anderson: Doug, you’ve written, in your book on Reforming Marriage, you’ve talked about the nature of headship and authority in the home and I think the phrase that you use is that there’s inescapable leadership in that if you understand the indicative nature of what’s being said about man being the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. Talk a little bit about that and how does that relate, how does that transfer over to the realm of pastor in the church and so on.
Doug Wilson: Right, it’s interesting that Paul, for example, doesn’t tell husbands to be the head of their wives. They are the head of the wife. The husband is the head of the wife, he says. The command is to love your wives. Husbands can love their wives or not. When a man disobeys, he is unloving and when a man is obedient, he is loving. But a man can’t disobey in such a way as to not be the head. He’s inescapably the head. So if he abdicates or if he runs away, he runs off with another woman, the empty seat at the dinner table in that family is dominating that whole family it becomes that family’s story. His headship, his abdication, his infidelity are all examples of twisted or bent headship, but it’s headship. It’s really influential. It has a huge impact on his wife, kids and so forth. So he can’t opt out. He can’t shrink away and say, well, I’m going to be a nullity in this family, I’m going to be inconsequential. He can’t do that. He can say I will not love, I will not praise, I will not sacrifice. He can be disobedient. But he can’t be disobedient to the point of ceasing to be the man, ceasing to the husband, ceasing to be the father.
By way of Application, we looked at these Scriptures:
1 Corinthians 11:3 –But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
Ephesians 5:23 –
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Here’s some further questions to consider:
• What does it mean for the husband to be “head”?
• How do these texts understand our headship will be practiced?
• What is one area in which you can be more effective in headship?
• Pray about these things at your table.
A Conscious Choice
Each Monday, I write a small piece on leadership for my Leadership Reno County group and today my email was posted on the Kansas Leadership Center blog. Here’s the content:
I was recently thinking about Intervening Skillfully into a situation and in that competency, I came across that line: “make conscious choices” and the thought occurred to me, what is a conscious choice? How does this kind of choice differ from others? Hopefully, my musings on this will help you think about intervening skillfully through making conscious choices.
The KLC Quick Guide asks some questions that help define it: “What is our typical approach to intervening on issues like this? What new intervention approaches might be necessary? What type of leadership interventions are needed from us right now?” Again, so many of our interventions are, to quote something I’ve often heard in church life, “the way we’ve always done them.” We’re not seeking to be effective, but rather to step in like we typically do. Making a conscious choice means pausing a second to consider if the particular situation you’re addressing requires the same old, same old or if there is a way that you might be able to intervene that would be more effective.
Making a conscious choice requires great management of self, a thorough diagnosis of the situation and a consideration as to how our actions can best be maneuvered to energize others. So, this works together, with all the competencies, to have the most robust and powerful impact on others. That is a conscious choice that makes a difference. Therefore, today, let’s intervene skillfully through making conscious choices and see if we don’t just achieve better outcomes in our leadership opportunities.
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