This coming Sunday, 1/17, we will be working our way through 1 John 5:13-17. Many writers believe that in these final verses of 1 John, as a way of offering a conclusion to the book as a whole, John is rehearsing some of the big themes he’s been after through the book. So, what would you expect to be there?
This past weekend, the men of our church gathered (we’re meeting 7 times in 2011 to see how we need to gospel to fight the seven deadly sins) to study gluttony. I love it when others gifted to teach in the body can use their gifts. And last Saturday was no different. One quote I enjoyed was from Evagrius of Pontus, who, on gluttony, said,
There is gluttony then, the mother of fornication, nourishing the thoughts with words, the relaxation of fasting, the muzzling of ascesis [exercise], terror over one’s moral purpose, imagining of foods, picturer of condiments, a dissolute fawn, unbridled madness, a receptacle of disease, envy of health, an obstruction of the throat, a groaning of the innards, the extremity of insults, a fellow initiate in fornication, pollution of the intellect, weakness of the body, wearisome sleep, gloomy death.
He was tying in the sin of gluttony to the sin of lust. Really great help! So, are you struggling with gluttony. If so, run to a Savior who has put all sin, including overindulging in food, under His feet.
We have a busy weekend coming…
First off, our Men’s Ministry 7 in ’11 breakfasts will meet Saturday, 5/7 at 7AM. Conor Eastman will be talking about gluttony. Plan to join us for fellowship, teaching and prayer from 7-8AM.
On Sunday, in the AM service, we will have baby dedications, but also continue working through Hebrews, looking at Hebrews 2:10 and the Founder of our salvation. F.F. Bruce, in his excellent commentary mused, “There are many who are ready to tell us confidently what would and what would not be worthy of God; but in fact the only way to discover what is a worthy thing for God to do is to consider what God has actually done.” There might be some out there who wonder why salvation is a certain way and what it does. Hebrews 2:10 opens up to show some of the answer. Therefore, join us for Sunday AM worship at Crestview, 10:15AM. We will have no PM activities on Sunday.
We have 7 in ’11 tomorrow, Saturday April 9th, at 7AM at the church.
We continue our series on the seven deadly sins and how they are fought with the Gospel by hearing Kevin Evenson teach about Lust. We will keep our basic format of brief breakfast and fellowship time, followed by teaching and prayer. Join us.
Gentlemen in and around Hutch: Just a reminder, we will have 7 in ’11 tomorrow, Saturday AM, February 12, at 8AM. Tom Dixon will be teaching on the second of the seven deadly sins (anger) and we will have time for eating, accountability, learning and prayer. Join us…
Looking forward to a great night of fellowship with the men of Crestview Bible, hearing Graham Hill open up the Scriptures and, of course, the chili…
by Darrin Patrick…(the promo for his new book) and a great motivational talk for men to be men in the church…
C.J. gives us a quote for men who serve in ministry and how men can support their local pastor. He writes:
Men who pastor small churches have my deepest respect. These guys are my heroes for the way they quietly and faithfully serve and persevere in difficult and challenging contexts, and do so with joy. That is why, during a panel discussion at Together for the Gospel, I was coming out of my chair as John MacArthur made the following remarks in response to a good question by Thabiti:
Thabiti Anyabwile: I am thinking about folks who are traveling with me. I am deeply encouraged with their being here. And I see other pastors traveling with some of the elders and members in the church. I assume they are likewise encouraged. Any words that you would offer to folks here who maybe aren’t in pastoral ministry? Maybe they are here to support their pastor in the kind of faithfulness you are talking about. Any exhortations to them, practical ways that they can hold the pastor’s arms up in this kind of faithfulness and trusting in God?
John MacArthur: What I cherish the most is a true and loving loyalty. This disloyalty, betrayal, undermining, just cuts the heart out of your pastor. When I talk about loving loyalty, I mean when there is an issue that needs to be addressed you go eyeball-to-eyeball, man-to-man, and you confront it. And I love that. I love when guys come to me and say, “John, I think this is a problem. I think you are overlooking this. I think this is a misstep on your part.” Those are the men I cherish. Those are the men I pull to my heart.
But what is just terribly debilitating is to feign that kind of affection to the man and then undermine that among the people. That is the most difficult thing. It is the betrayal that that brings. I could endure any problem in a church. I am challenged to solve any problem. But it is so hard when the men that you trust betray you behind your back. Because he is God’s man in your midst, you give him your love and you give him your loyalty. Be honest with him, face to face, man to man, open hearted. But understand the burden that he bears, and you need to be his true friend. You really do.
It is especially important for pastors who serve alone. At a different point in the discussion, MacArthur addressed the struggles single-staff pastors face:
I find my joy in the church in the men I work with, in their growth and their partnership and their love and their loyalty and their support of me. For me, I think that would be the hardest thing about being a pastor at a small church, being there alone and trying to carry that burden by yourself. That is why some of you are here, because you need this. You don’t even so much need what we say—you need each other. You need to feel like you are a part of something way beyond your own thing, and we embrace you fully.
I have often said the Lord must prefer small churches because he made so many of them. And you guys that are alone in those churches, you are the real soldiers, you are the real warriors. We thank God for you.
The Men’s Retreat is a wrap.
Last night, we went to Trotman’s Farm and were able to eat some great grilled animal (ok, just hot dogs, brats and hamburgers, but it was still grilled animal). We then watched Mark Driscoll’s sermon Marriage and Men and were greatly challenged. I developed application questions. From there we hung out by the fire.
Today, things got started with breakfast (some good Starbucks’ Espresso Roast, meat, eggs, pancakes, potatoes, etc.) Then, we did a team building activity aiming at showing how much more effective we can be as men when we receive the insight of others. It was a great weekend and really encouraging.
I’ve seen this resource (Fight Clubs: Gospel Centered Discipleship)numerous places on the internet, so when this afternoon presented an open season for fun reading, I took the free pdf download and gave it a read. Awesome stuff. What it really gets at is how accountability groups that make us feel bad aren’t what the Gospel is really all about in conforming us to the image of Christ. This is a better picture. It’s Scripturally-solid, full of practicality and bleeds Gospel. This is a great resource to consider. Download the free pdf or buy this book.