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Weekend Recap – Above

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Yesterday’s sermon, Above, from Colossians 3:1-2 is online. I thought we had a great day, exploring what it means to seek the things above as those raised with Christ. Then, in the evening, we spent time exploring forgiveness in the Gospel Centered Life curriculum.

Yesterday morning, I was struck with a call to…

Trust in Christ – Christ is ruling from heaven at God’s right hand. Therefore, we should bow to His sovereignty by trusting in Him.

Christocentricity – I borrowed this term from Sam Storms. What it means is: center in Christ. Make Him the center of all you are.

Look heavenward – we must get our eyes off of the here and now and focus on the eternal.

I hope you are encouraged to seek the things above.

Weekend Recap – Creation

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Yesterday, we enjoyed our guest Pat Nurre who spoke to us on The Evolution Paradigm, where did it come from?

It was a great talk getting at some of the presuppositions that drive the “movement” of evolution. For more info, visit Pat’s website.

I spoke with Pat briefly and he recommended a couple of resources…

For younger families: Answers magazine from Answers in Genesis
For older families: Creation magazine from Creation Ministries International
They also have a more technical journal if you would like the latest scholarly research from a Christian perspective. Enjoy.

Weekend Recap – Union With Christ

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As I was reflecting on Sunday AM’s events, I am still a bit awestruck by the implications of what it means to be united to Christ. The sermon, Union, from Colossians 2:20-23 is now online. The sermon really talked about the effects that being in union with Christ has upon the believer. Specifically, our connection with the world is severed and we are given real, effectual help in fighting sin. The challenge is that many of us think that we can defeat sin in our own ability. We need to remember that it is all Christ. As we received Christ Jesus, the Lord, we are to walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith, just as we were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7). Let’s look to our union with Christ and find it to be sufficient for our fight with sin.

Weekend Recap – Growth & Mission

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This weekend, we had a great Lord’s Day. In the morning, we met together, celebrated the Lord’s Supper, looked at Growth from Colossians 2:18-19. This sermon really pointed conclusively to how central Jesus must be in the life of the church. We major on too many minor things. As we are severed from our Head, we lose vitality. Holding tight to Christ is key.

And it was very fitting that in God’s providence we got in small groups in the evening to discuss mission. Great stuff. Hope you enjoyed your Lord’s Day.

Weekend Recap – Substance & Sacrifice

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The sermons from this past Lord’s Day are up and online…

In the AM, we looked at Colossians 2:16-17 and how Christ is more substantial for our justification than health or religion. The sermon was called Substance. The big question I gave at the end of the sermon was: “Why be content with the shadows when you have substance available?”

In the PM, we gathered to look at Sacrifice, Jesus in the OT story of the institution of Passover in Exodus 12:1-13. What stuck out to me was how Jesus was the perfect protection and provision for sinners.

Weekend Recap – Alive

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Today’s sermon, Alive, from Colossians 2:13-15 is now online. It was amazing, in this message to unfold what God has done to make us alive in Christ. My two applications from Charles Simeon were:
What a wonderful sight is the cross of Christ!
What folly it is to suffer ourselves to be diverted from it!

To put it simply, God has snatched us from death, cancelled our debts and vanquished our enemies in Christ. Is there really anything else?

Unsearchable Ways by Arwen Eastman

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This past Lord’s Day (5/2/10) in the AM service, Arwen Eastman, Kaley Eastman and Molly Sundquist sang this song, Unsearchable Ways, written by Arwen for the offertory. Here’s the lyrics:

Sometimes I don’t understand what You do
And sometimes the pain of the unknown just stings me
And sometimes my questions just cloud up my mind
So I don’t even know what I feel

But I remember Your Word
And the promise You give
That everything will work together for my good

Chorus

So I praise You, Lord
Oh I praise You, Lord
Yes I praise You for all Your unsearchable ways

And You surround me with loved ones But they don’t know what to say
Or just how to comfort my wounds
But I know You are the Healer, and my great Redeemer
And You never gonna fail to glorify Your name

So I remember Your Word
It says You’re in control
I know that sovereignly You give and take away

Chorus

So I praise You, Lord
Oh I praise You, Lord
Yes I praise You for all Your unsearchable ways

Bridge

You are so far above me
And yet You would love me
In spite of my wavering faith

So as Your beloved child
I want this weighty trial
To point back to You and Your grace!

May I never regret, Lord, the fire You let me walk through
For I know that it’s making me pure
And may I never lose sight of my purpose in life
To give all You give me back to You

So I’ll remember Your Word
It says Your ways are good
So I know You have a perfect reason for this time

Chorus

So I praise You, Lord
Oh I praise You, Lord
Yes I praise You for all Your unsearchable ways

And I’ll praise You, Lord
(praise You for all Your unsearchable ways)
Oh, I’ll praise You, Lord
(praise You for all Your unsearchable ways)
Yes, I’ll praise You, Lord
(praise You for all Your unsearchable ways)

I’LL PRAISE YOU FOR ALL YOUR UNSEARCHABLE WAYS

I asked Arwen a couple of things about the song:

1) Arwen, God seems to give you songs occasionally for the benefit of the body of Christ, how does this happen?

When we know God’s Word, He is so faithful to remind us of what it says to comfort, encourage, and exhort us. This is often how I write music…God reminds me of His Word, and sometimes reminds me in the form of rhyming lyrics. I try to make songs generic enough that they can apply to situations that others may be facing as well as my own.

2) What specifically prompted this song?

God has blessed us in the last 6 months with two pregnancies that only lasted a few months each. While this situation seems to be devastating from a human perspective, we know that God’s ways are so much higher than ours, and we know that all of our trials are part of His perfect plan. Everything He does is for His glory and our benefit, so how can we not praise Him?

3) Anything else you are working on now?

Well, I always have a line or two bouncing around in my head, and if it seems song-worthy I might write it down, but nothing specific at the moment!

Thanks, Arwen, not only for this great song, but also for answering my questions.

Weekend Wrap Up: Jesus, Our Everything

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Enjoyed a great Lord’s Day boasting in Jesus…

In the morning, new classes started in our Adult Sunday School. My morning message from Colossians 2:11-12 pointed to how we are likened to Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. The sermon, Gospel Likeness, is now online.

The PM service went well, too. We looked at how the OT story of the Exodus (God’s deliverance of His people out of Israelite bondage) pointed to Jesus. That sermon, Jesus, Our Deliverer, is also online. One highlight from the evening was singing “All I Have Is Christ” with the people of Crestview. It was a great cap on the day. Here’s a video in which you can hear it for free:

All I Have Is Christ from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

Thanks to Justin Taylor for giving links to the music as chord chart or 4 part harmony.

Weekend Recap – Fullness / Heart Idolatry…

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Yesterday’s AM message, Fullness, from Colossians 2:9-10 is now online. The sermon sought to show compellingly how satisfying Jesus is, since He is fully God, fills us and is the Head of ALL rule and authority. I hope it was encouraging to you. It was fitting to close with the Lord’s supper, as well, seeing Jesus in glorious ways.

In the PM we met in Small Groups discussing chapter 6 of the Gospel Centered Life curriculum on heart idolatry. In the article, an citation was made from Steven Childer’s excellent article: True Spirituality. For more on discerning your heart idolatry, listen or read C.J. Mahaney’s excellent sermon, “The Idol Factory.”

Weekend Recap – Promises, Truth & The Gospel

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After the flurry of activity last week, it was great to get back to the dear people of God at Crestview. Had a full day, with SS, AM Service, Cross-Cultural Missions Committee, PM Service and Men’s Theology, but a fruitful one nonetheless.

In the AM, I preached from Colossians 2:8 a sermon entitled Error. In this talk, I was really trying to give clear exposition about the nature of error and how centering in Christ and the Gospel trumps everything else. It was yet another clear reminder of how central Christ and the Gospel should be.

In the PM, my sermon dealt with how promises made to Abraham pointed to Jesus. We looked at Genesis 12:1-3 and Genesis 17:1-8 (as well as NT texts highlighting the connection). The sermon was entitled Promise. I thought the promise of a city that was to come was one full of applications for believers (read Hebrews 11:9-16). At any rate, it was a great day.