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Weekend Recap – Week of Prayer

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My 1/6/13AM sermon, Praying for God’s Work, from Matthew 9:35-38 is now online.  (This sermon kicked off our church’s Week of Prayer.  Devotional available here.)  The sermon sought to unpack how prayer is really an important part of God’s work, using the life and ministry of Jesus as example #1.  We don’t treat or think of prayer as an important part of God’s work, but Jesus draws the connection close.  Hopefully my sermon pointed you to this truth.

Hope you had a good Lord’s Day yourself.  Now, off to another week living for God’s glory.

Crestview Kids Prep – Holy Spirit

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Tonight at Crestview Kids, we are studying the Holy Spirit.  Our verse for the month has been 2 Corinthians  13:14, which highlights the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We’ve also sang the Sovereign Grace Music song, “Three In One” this month.

Why study the Holy Spirit?  On the one hand, Jesus’ credibility stands on the Holy Spirit being sent.  After all, Jesus was the One who promised that He would send Him (in John 14).  In a much deeper way, though, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead who teaches us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  If we want children who love the Gospel, then, they must love and understand the Holy Spirit, who makes it possible.

Weekend Preview – Gospel Hope

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As we near the close of the book of Hebrews on Sunday Mornings at Crestview, tomorrow we come to Hebrews 13:20-21.  It is really a prayer that the writer has for his readers.  He wants them to get the message of the Gospel and what it means for the people.  Tomorrow, as we look at this benediction, I’m hoping to inspire hope in you as we look at the hope that this writer has for the people.

So, come expecting to built up in hope…

Weekend Review – Offered Sacrifices

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My 10/28/12AM sermon, Offered Sacrifices, from Hebrews 13:15-16 is online.  While Christ’s work for redeeming sinners is completed and there are no further sacrifices needed, the writer of Hebrews gives us two sacrifices of praise that should still come out of lives: a sacrifice of praise in gratitude to God and a sacrifice of loving acts toward others.

In this sermon, I tried to root out some remaining remnants of selfishness that might keep us from offering to God sacrifices of praise and really tried to emphasize that these sacrifices don’t happen by gutting it out effort, but they are offered THROUGH CHRIST.

It was a convicting word for me personally and one that I hope helped the people I love to serve.

Hope you had a great weekend, as well.

Identify with Christ

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My sermon from 10/21/12AM was Identify With Christ from Hebrews 13:13-14.  This sermon included a call to go to Christ enduring reproach because here we don’t have a lasting city, but we seek a city that is to come.  This passage really helped unpack the big charge we had in Hebrews 13:7-12 on holding tightly to the Gospel.  So, the application of that truth is to go to Christ, identify with Him.  As we do, we will have to endure hardship and persecution but we can do this with confidence because of the future that is surely ours in Him.

I hope you were encouraged.  Have a blessed week identifying with Christ and glorifying God through Him.

Book Review – Gospel Deeps

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Gospel Deeps: Reveling in the Excellencies of Jesus is the latest book from Jared Wilson.  The more I’ve read of Jared through his books, blog and twitter feed, the more I’ve come to appreciate his quick wit, sense of humor, but, more than these, his deep love and appreciation for the Gospel.

Is another book on the Gospel needed?  What makes this unique?  These are, honestly, some of the questions a sensible evangelical reader might ask when a title like this comes across the radar, so as this book came out, I asked those questions, but dug in, knowing what I know about Jared and his heart.  Right out of the gate, Jared had me hooked.  I grew up in an environment quite similar to what he described in the introduction, where a Gospel invitation was given at the end of a service and it was for unbelievers.  If not too many unbelievers were “coming forward” then the pastor would ask questions about assurance asking if we know that we know that we’re believers (whatever knowing that I know means).  And it wasn’t that some of these things (Gospel invitation, pressing assurance) were wrong it’s just that, like Jared says, “We had it shallow. I didn’t understand that the Gospel was for all of life” (p.18).  What drives the rest of this book, then are these Gospel Deeps, the depths of understanding that God has put in the Bible about the Gospel to help all people admire and extol Jesus for who He is and what He’s done.  It is in this sense, the book delivers.

Chapter 1 really orients us to book itself, showing us the depths of the Gospel rooted in the deep love of God Himself.  Chapter 2 unpacks 1 Peter 2:9 and shows us how the depths of the Gospel are oriented individually, corporately, and theologically.  Chapter 3 points us to God Himself, revealed as Trinity, in its Gospel brightness, all of which leads to much practical living.  Chapter 4 shows the depths of the Gospel in establishing joy in us.  Chapter 5 expands the joy of Jesus going to cross by centering in how penal substitution is central to the Gospel, especially highlighted in John’s Gospel.  Chapter 6 builds on the suffering of Jesus by taking us to God’s purpose in suffering, connecting it to the Gospel and giving us much practical living in light of this truth.  Chapter 7 shows how glorious God’s attributes shine in the Gospel.  Chapter 8 shows what Christ accomplished for us to adopt us into God’s family.  Chapter 9 takes us from the here and now to the future cosmic redemption anticipated through the Gospel.  And, chapter 10 take us deep into Christ himself from Hebrews 1.  The brief conclusion dealt with the critique that we are to move on from the Gospel into maturity and showed how foundations don’t move.  So, there were many rich Gospel depths explored which help the reader to praise God for the Gospel and more actively live in light of it.

My feeling, then, is that Jared delivered to us a very needed book to connect the rich depths of Gospel truth to our everyday living.  I think if you’ll read this, you’ll be affected in the same way.

Weekend Recap – God’s Mission

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We were privileged to have Matthew Ellison from 16:15 with us yesterday.  In the morning, he brought a great exposition of Matthew 28:16-20 entitled God’s Triumphant Mission.  He encouraged us with the truth that the Great Commission can’t be stopped.  Therefore, we should either, 1) join God in history’s greatest moment or 2) miss out.  We were encouraged, in light of God’s greatness and glory, to join in the spreading of God’s fame in the world.  All Nations Must Hear was his first point.  He spoke about the unfinished task and how God might be strategically positioning us as a people to advance the Gospel.  This work, is helped along by 2 promises: 1) All Authority Belongs To Christ and 2) ALL-ways Christ is with us.  In light of this, we were urged to respond.  It was a great morning in the Word.

In the evening, Matthew led our Elders, Missions Committee and other people in a discovery workshop to assess what we currently do as a church and how our current situation propels and ignites a vision for the future.  This was a time-consuming night, but very fruitful.

All in all, we enjoyed a great Lord’s day.  I hope you did as well.

Weekend Preview – Committed To the Gospel

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This Sunday, Lord willing, I hope to dive into Hebrews 13:7-12.  We keep making our way closer and closer to the end of this great book.  And, this book is ending in an amazing way.

In Hebrews 13:1-3, we’ve seen that our love is to be towards other believers, towards strangers and towards the needy.

In Hebrews 13:4, we were reminded that God does care about what marriage is and desires to be honored in it.

In Hebrews 13:5-6, we saw that God is enough.  We should keep ourselves free from coveting and the allurements for “more” and find rest in God, who will never leave us or forsake us.  The content soul in God is able to confess from a heart of faith: The Lord is my Helper, I don’t have to be paralyzed by fear, and there’s nothing the world will throw at me that will change this.

In Hebrews 13:7-12, we are drawn back to the Gospel, that established these Hebrew Christians (13:7), is a message about an unchanging eternal Savior (13:8), is consistently challenged (13:9), is based on a singular access to God (13:10) and has the effect of changing all of those who believe its truth (13:11-12). This message calls for our commitment.  I hope you’ll be with us in worship to dive deep into these truths.

Your Marriage Needs The Gospel

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The Gospel Transforms Marriage.  I loved this post over at DG and as I’m working through some pre-martial sessions, I was confronted with these glorious truths again.  Here’s a quote of 9 ways the Gospel transforms marriage:

In their book, Love That Lasts, Gary and Betsy Ricucci list out nine ways that the gospel directly affects marriage (and so much more).

  1. Because of the gospel, Christians have become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Therefore, in our marriage, our past does not define us, confine us, or determine our future.
  2. Because of the gospel, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). Therefore we can live free of all guilt and condemnation for every sin, and we can trust that God, in his mercy, will be gracious to us.
  3. Because of the gospel we can forgive, just as Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). Nothing done against us compares to our sin against God. Therefore all offenses, hostility, and bitterness between Christians can be completely forgiven and removed.
  4. Because of the gospel, we are accepted by God (Romans 15:7). Therefore we are not dependent on a spouse for who we are or what we need.
  5. Because of the gospel, sin’s ruling power over us is broken (Romans 6:6, 14). Therefore we can truly obey all that God calls us to do in our marriage, regardless of any circumstance or situation.
  6. Because of the gospel, we have access to God through Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). Therefore we can at any time take any need in our marriage to the One who can do all things.
  7. Because of the gospel, we have hope (Romans 5:1-4). Therefore we can endure any marital difficulty, hardship, or suffering, with the assurance that God is working all to our greatest good (Romans 8:28).
  8. Because of the gospel, Christ dwells in us by his Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore we are confident that God is always with us and is always at work in our marriage, even when progress is imperceptible (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
  9. Because of the gospel, we have power to fight and overcome remaining sin , which continues to dwell and war within us (Romans 7:19-21, 24-25; Galatians 5:16-17). This indwelling enemy represents the essence of what is called the doctrine of sin.
Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace (Crossway, 2006), 22–23, numbering added.