Adam and Mandy are the proud parents of Isabelle Renee Swisher.
Born: Wednesday, March 18 @ 4:02 PM
Weight: 8lbs 3oz
Length: 20 inches
Congratulations! God has again brought life into this world.
I am looking forward to gathering with fellow believers this Sunday…
The AM sermon is on the Lord’s Supper from Mark 14:22-25. We will also observe the Lord’s Supper at the culmination of the service.
The PM small group lesson gets to some great practical matters in fighting sin.
Looks like we should have a great Lord’s Day.
This week, with a lightened preaching load, I undertook, with the help of some excellent helpers, to get some odd projects complete on the administrative side including:
– reprogramming and updating the sets used for lights in the worship room
– new light bulbs in fixtures in worship room
– sound board software upgrades / equalizing sound on guitar
– fixing a switch which hasn’t worked in the 9 & 1/2 years I’ve been here
– replacing fixtures under the awning as people enter our building
– replacing photocells / lightbulbs in some exterior lights that illumine the building
– setting up / tearing down scaffolding
So, it has been really fun to get some of these projects complete. I’ve managed to get my regular duties done efficiently as well.
Andy Naselli linked to this excellent bibliography by Phil Gons on Union with Christ.
We recently discussed this in our small groups (Chapter 3 of How Can I Change? by C.J. Mahaney and Robin Boisvert)
They referred to an excellent resource in their chapter, which was none other than D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones commentary on Romans 6 especially pp.106-148.
Enjoy and have a full soul after this great doctrinal truth settles upon you.
A letter to my son, who turned 3 today…
Andrew,
I’m really having a hard time believing that you are already 3 years old. It seems like a long time again when your Mom and I were working hard in the delivery room to bring you safely into this world. God was faithful and allowed you to be born. Now, looking back over 3 years, we see that God has been faithful to mature you in so many ways.
When you turned 2, you could barely speak, but now you seem so grown up. Even yesterday when we were going to celebrate your birthday with Grandma Robin, you asked Mom if this was where we turned to go see Bob the Tomato. Mom was quick to correct you and say, “Yes, that is where we go to see Mr. Lansdowne” (at small groups). So you are making headway in maturing.
Our greatest desire, though, is that we would continue to be tools in the hands of God to raise you to know Him. God has only given you one life and we desire that God’s purposes for your life would be recognized and pursued. Our hope for you is not so much that you grow up, get a nice job and degree and then have a happy little family. Our hope is that you will be so captivated with God that you would follow Him in whatever He calls you to do. This may mean you go to tell another part of the world about Jesus or that you forsake the comforts of this life for the enjoyment of the next.
As another year passes by, we praise God for His work in you. May He continue to accomplish all that He intends to in you.
Happy Birthday, son. Your Mom and I love you!
Dad
Thought we had a great day yesterday, audio is up for AM & PM (and HomeWord if you missed it over the weekend).
In the AM, I really felt much liberty in preaching. Sermon was on Jesus’ Greatness from Mark 14:12-21. It was fun to remember how Jesus is greater than the Passover but then to see the precision with which Judas was laid bare before Him was awesome. I was really struck to simply stand in awe of Jesus.
In the PM, we had such a full house and the sermon was on God Acts from Hosea 2:2-23. Even when we are running headlong into sin, God is faithful out of His love for His people to allure us. I really needed to hear that incredible motivation to persevere.
At HomeWord Friday PM, we looked at 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 and the call to Stay Together. With so many bailing out of marriages for trifling excuses, we need that reminder from God’s Word as well. His desire is that we stay together for life. I really appreciated the Small group discussion Ron led us in as well. Examining 1 Corinthians 13 and how it calls for devotion was compelling.
How, the call upon our lives is to apply these things. May God grant us grace to do so.
Came across this site today: Faith By Hearing, which encourages readers to “seize their commute” to grow in godliness. Today’s helpful post involved optimizing MP3’s for use…really good stuff.
I’m looking for an out of print book…
Love So Amazing (Expositions of Colossians 1) by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, published by Baker Books. If anyone could help me locate a copy of this to own, let me know.
Thought I would post something since there hasn’t been much happening on here lately and let you know what’s up.
This week is flying by. I have most of the administrative stuff done, but need to finish Sunday AM’s sermon on Jesus’ Greatness from Mark 14:12-21 and the PM message on God Acts from Hosea 2:2-23.
Friday night is HomeWord, and that sermon is complete. It is on Staying Together from 1 Corinthians 7:10-11.
Other things happening include…
Our Church’s Missions Festival (Eyes Open Weekend) with my good friend Freddy T coming to town March 27-29.
A Men’s Retreat looks like it will take place on April 24-25 and our guest speaker will be Mike Hubbard from Genesis Church, Eureka, MO (a burb of STL).
There are also things in the works for the fall with our former pastor Rick Cornish (currently serving as one of our church’s missionaries, doing international teaching) and his family coming to join us September 19-21.
Not to mention that a Good Friday service with Union Valley Bible Church and our church’s Easter celebration is just around the corner.
April 21-23 I travel to The Gospel Coalition.
My Wednesday night study is working through David Martyn Lloyd-Jones Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Tonight we are in chapter 23 on “The Tree and Its Fruit”.
So, I say all this to say, there are many things on my mind. Oh, one other thing, we put our house on the market to look for something a little bigger. So, on top of all these things, we are praying and thinking about what God would like to do in that situation.
In all these things we have but one firm confidence: God is in control. Knowing that He is full of mercy and grace–having expressed that so vividly with Christ’s work on the cross–means these activities and considerations are merely part of the joy we get to experience in seeking to glorify and enjoy Him. Pray that we would remain faithful to Him in these things.
Having already brought out a quote from last night, I thought it would be good to reflect on the morning. The sermon, Devotion, from Mark 14:1-11, is online.
I was really struck by the devotion of this woman and realized that often I play the part of those who scoff at her. I ridicule and make others with a different expression of delight in Christ appear to be less than ideal. I do this because I want my expression of delight to be the standard. Some of this occurred to me as I was quoting what those people were saying — “This money was wasted on Jesus, it could have been given to the poor.” It is almost sacrilege to say such a thing. She was delighting in Jesus and those others were wanting themselves to look better. She was the only one who understood who Jesus was and what He was worthy of.
To put it simply – I need to be more concerned about my own delight in Christ and not so concerned about others’.