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Holiness Is Possible…

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It’s amazing that most of our conversations about holiness begin with what needs to be done.  For instance, someone comes and asks, how can I pursue holiness?  The answer we give (in the church) is typically read your Bible, pray, enter community.  And, while all of these things are worthwhile things in pursuing grace, I’m convinced we need to start by looking to the Gospel.  My sermon from 1/15/12 was entitled Holiness Is Possible from Hebrews 10:1-10.  I tried to show from God’s Word that holiness is possible not in shrewd rule keeping, but in Christ and His once for all sacrifice for sinners.  Hope you enjoy it.

Holiness Is Possible, Really!

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This coming Lord’s Day, Lord willing of course, my Sunday AM sermon will be on Hebrews 10:1-10. I’ve entitled the message Holiness Is Possible. Seems like many think of holiness or sanctification as an elusive thing.  It’s more like a goal, but something that we don’t know a real experience of.  But, in this text of Scripture, we are told that we can have real hope for being holy and approaching a holy God because of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  The old covenant spoke of limitations, but the good news is that we can be near God through Jesus.  I hope you come ready to praise God for the joy and holiness that is yours in Christ.

Affliction, God’s Word and Help

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My sermon from 1/8/12 entitled Affliction and God’s Word from Psalm 34 is online.  Each year, following Piper’s model, I’ve found it helpful to start the year with a sermon related to prayer and kick off a Week of Prayer, then follow it up with a sermon related to God’s Word.  Yesterday, I wrapped up this brief 2 week excursion by preaching on how God’s Word helps in affliction from Psalm 34.  The big point was to taste and see God in His Word and He will lead you (through His Word) to fear Him and praise Him.  Hope you have a good week feasting on God’s Word.

Weekend Preview – Affliction and God’s Word

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This coming Lord’s day, we hope to be back in Psalm 34 to be shaped again to be a people of God’s Word.  I was asked by someone yesterday how Psalm 34 relates to the Word.  So, here’s my attempt at whetting your appetite:

In vv.1-3, we are told that the humble hear and are glad.  What does afflicted or humble people here that gives them joy in the midst of their affliction?  Well, on one level, we have to say that it is God’s Word.

In vv.4-10, we are told to taste and see that God is good.  Where do we do this?  How do we know God is good?  By simply looking at creation’s marvel?  Yes, but we don’t stop there.  It is in His Word that we know God is for us and not against us.  We need the special revelation that comes from savoring Him in His Word.

Finally in vv.11-22, we are told to come and listen to learn the fear of the Lord.  What are we listening to?   The Word of God.

Quite simply, God’s Word is what we need to hear and as we do, we’ll be equipped for affliction when it comes (and it will).  My hope this coming Lord’s Day is to encourage you to go after God in His Word.  Hope to see you there.

Praying to Our God

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My sermon, Praying To Our God, from Psalm 34 is online.  This sermon, which served to kick off our church’s Week of Prayer, sought to encourage us to be a people of prayer by showing that God gives joy, listens to our prayers and comes near to help us.  We distributed our Week of Prayer devotionals and had an enjoyable morning looking heavenward for help.  I trust you had a glorious Lord’s Day kicking off the New Year.

Thinking About Next Year

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There are some amazing tools I use to think through goals and priorities for the coming year.  Each December I try to think about what different priorities need to characterize my life and ministry.  Some tools I use are:

Don Whitney’s Questions to Ask At the Start of A New Year
Justin Buzzard’s Monthly Day Away to Think and Pray
Mark Driscoll’s Biblical Man Worksheet
Isaac Watts’ Questions for a Pastor (Parts 1 and 2)

Use these tools to see your heart and make adjustments accordingly.

Weekend Preview – Psalm 34

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For the next couple of Sundays, Crestview will be looking at Psalm 34.  This coming Lord’s Day, in particular, we will be thinking about prayer in this Psalm.  Those who cry to the Lord are heard.  We are called to praise. There is so much for us.  Over on Twitter, I’ve been tweeting meditations on these verses.  I would encourage you to read this Psalm and think about what it means for your prayer life.  If you are interested in some of our Week of Prayer resources, they are available here.

Weekend Recap – Jesus, Word in the Flesh

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My sermon from 12/25/11 from John 1:14 entitled Christmas Truth is online.  In this talk, I tried to simply and helpfully point to how Jesus, both His coming to earth and displaying glory, as the true meaning of Christmas.    Sorry that I was a little slow in getting it up and the link posted.  We’ve been busy this week with holiday plans.  Hope you have a great week looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.