This Sunday at Crestview Bible Church, 10:15AM, we continue our journey through John’s Gospel, focusing in on John 19:16b-42. This passage focuses in on the final moment of Jesus in His crucifixion. To put it simply, Jesus Triumphed in Death. I hope you’ll come and join to hear about how Jesus’ death is good news.
This month at Crestview, we’re learning Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s song My Heart Is Filled With Thankfulness. Here’s the lyrics:
“My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again;
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow’r upon my heart.My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose ev’ry promise is enough
For ev’ry step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev’ry thought is love.
For ev’ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him.”
— WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH GETTY & STUART TOWNEND COPYRIGHT © 2003 THANKYOU MUSIC
You can listen to a recording of it from Together For The Gospel earlier this year here.
I was listening to Matt Chandler’s sermon Just Men last week and I came across this quote, which gave me a good deal of insight in to what robs us of gladness and gratitude. To put it another way, because we’re not content with what we have, we easily lose sight of how good God is. Here’s the quote:
We see economic selfishness all the time. Now, when I’m talking about economic selfishness, I’m not necessarily talking about lack of generosity, in fact, you might be some of the most generous people I’ve ever been around in my life. What I’m talking about on this one–we really need to be kind of ferreted out–is that what we see happen often is an inability to be grateful and glad at where we are. But always wanting more. So, when I’m talking about this kind of economic stronghold I’m talking about– we seem to lack the ability to go “look at how generous God is, look what He’s given to us, how gracious and great is God that He’s given all of this” we seem far more dialed in to what we don’t have than what we do. So this robs us from gladness. This robs us from gratitude. It steals from us the ability to rejoice, despite the fact that God’s been so generous to all of us, to all of us.
-Matt Chandler, Village Church, TX (from the 9:55 to 10:52 mark of the sermon)
Search your heart. Maybe gladness and gratitude are being robbed from you. Grab our Gratitude Guide to nurture your heart with how good God’s really been towards you.
I was skimming over What Is the Mission of the Church? by DeYoung and Gilbert again, and came across this great quote from J. Gresham Machen. Think of the Great Depression and the pressure that it put on the church as well as theological liberalism provoking schisms within the church. What is the church’s responsibility in this new age?
The responsibility of the church in the new age is the same as its responsibility in every age. It is to testify that this world is lost in sin; that the span of human life — no, all the length of human history–is an infinitesimal island in the awful depths of eternity; that there is a mysterious, holy, living God, Creator of all, Upholder of all, infinitely beyond all; that he has revealed himself to us in his Word and offered us communion with himself through Jesus Christ the Lord; that there is no other salvation, for individuals or for nations, save this, but that this salvation is full and free, and that whoever possesses it has for himself and for all others to whom he may be the instrument in bringing it a treasure compared with which all the kingdoms of the earth–no, all the wonders of the starry heavens–are as the dust of the street.
An unpopular message it is–an impractical message, we are told. But it is the message of the Christian church. Neglect it, and you will have destruction; heed it, and you will have life.
(J. Gresham Machen, “The Responsibility of the Church in Our New Age,” in J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings, ed. D. G. Hart (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2004), 376 and quoted in Kevin DeYoung & Greg Gilbert, What Is The Mission of the Church? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2011), pp.248-249)
Today, we have presidential election aftermath, the pressure of our economy, and an impulse to give up what the church has always believed (and what the Bible teaches) about a good many issues. May it never be that we would neglect THE MESSAGE and our responsibility to share that message with those around us.
This past Sunday, at Crestview, we released a gratitude guide (Access it here: Gratitude Guide) meant to stir our people to fresh expressions of gratitude rooted in the Gospel. I love how Milton Vincent connects gratitude to the Gospel in The Gospel Primer. He writes:
When I look at any circumstance God apportions me, I am first grateful for the wrath I am not receiving in that moment (the empty part of the cup never looked so good!). Second, I am grateful for the blessings that are given to me instead of His wrath. (Life’s blessings, however small, always appear exceedingly precious when viewed against the backdrop of the wrath I deserve.) This two-layered gratitude disposes my heart to give things in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and it also lends a certain intensity to my giving of thanks. Such a gospel-generated gratitude glorifies God, contributes to peace of mind (Philippians 4:6-7), and keeps my foot from the path of foolishness and ruin (Romans 1:21-22, 28-29). (p.48)
So, I hope this encourages you and equips you with reasons to be grateful to God as we approach Thanksgiving.
My 11/13/16AM sermon, Pilate’s Problems from John 18:28-19:16a, is now online. This sermon teased out some of the ways that Jesus posed a big problem for the Roman governor, Pilate. The sub-theme of this sermon might be: how Jesus poses a problem for our relationship with the kingdoms of this world. And, while I do hit at some applications related to politics, this sermon is about Jesus being sentenced to death (and being handed over by His own people). After being betrayed, arrested/tried, and denied, the religious leaders come to Pilate to get Jesus killed. Pilate has Jesus flogged, mocked, and works out the charge of His being the King of the Jews. So, I hope you’ll listen and that this sermon helps you.
Jesus came and He was a king, but His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Today, as we think about the Gospel and what it means for us, remember this truth: as a believer, you are part of a kingdom that is outside of this world. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, you have been put to death and raised with Him as you believe in Him. Therefore, seek the things that are above where Christ is. Seek first His kingdom, which is not of this world.
This coming Sunday, Lord willing, we’ll continue our plodding through the Gospel of John, camping out in John 18:28-19:16. This section of the Gospel gets at Jesus appearing before Pilate, with he and Pilate have a lot of interaction together. Specifically, Jesus poses a big problem for Pilate and this gives us insight into how we think of politics today. I hope you come eager to pursue Christ’s glory as He moves to the cross. (We’ll also be discussing this in Small Groups…here are some questions.)
Yes, that’s a Hamilton musical song. Yes, it rings in my ears often. For all of us, life is busy, crazy, and often leaves us feeling overwhelmed. So, I was helped by this Lifehacker post on 50 Ways to Relax Without Spending a Dime. The graphic is great and I hope it inspires your creative ability to unplug – even if it is just for a second here or there.
I was reflecting and praying through Psalm 127. Maybe you could join me in praying these things. This might be a pastor’s heart for their local church reflected through the lens of Psalm 127…
[1] Unless the LORD builds the church, any kind of service in her is in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the church, her leaders stay awake in vain.
[2] Early morning devotions or late night ministry meetings are vain, too, like eating anxiety about ministry stuff for dinner;
for when God is building and watching the church, He gives His people sleep.
[3] Behold, new converts are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the church’s witness a reward.
[4] Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are new converts in the life of the church.
[5] Blessed is the church who fills their quiver with them!
That church shall not be put to shame when she speaks with the world about her impact.
So, God, build your church by using her witness. You build the church. You watch over her. You care for her. You add to her as you see fit. And, let local churches know the exhilaration and life that comes through seeing the Gospel change people among them. For your glory, Amen.
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