Category: Exhortation

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Resurrection Imitation: An Exhortation to Worship

As we consider Philippians one more time this morning before Transfiguration Sunday and the Lenten Season, we are considering this inseparable link between the Christian and his Lord. Not only do we share in the sufferings of Messiah, we also share in the resurrection life now. Richard Gaffin once wrote that “The Christian life in its entirety is to be subsumed under the category of Resurrection.” If we are to worship in spirit and in truth on this Lord’s Day we need to be renewed in resurrection garments that only a Resurrection Lord can provide.

For Paul, we taste of the life to come now. The final verdict has been declared now unto us. And only sin keeps us from tasting of this resurrection hope as we should.

What resurrection life does for us is provide the boldness we need to confess and to joyfully rise to receive forgiveness from Jesus Christ. This forgiveness is not granted by dead first century criminal, but a cosmic Lord of history. So we can say that “humans are saved by being united to the resurrected Messiah, and the result is that what is true of the true human is becoming true of others as well.”[1] The “category of resurrection” is not an ethereal description; it’s the place you live even now as you prepare your hearts for worship.


[1] Hood.

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What Controls Your Mind?

What is it that controls your mind at this stage in life? This is a question I often ask of people. I ask you now as we stand at this remarkable stage in history; the point where we are about to transition into sacred worship: what is it that controls your mind at this moment? Are you still suffering from that comment someone made to you a year ago? Are you self-consciously being controlled by the opinion of others? Do you see yourself stifled by continual introspection and doubt? If so, you are not alone. We have all felt this way before, and perhaps we feel this way now. But remember that this is not what God has in store for you this morning as you gather with God’s people. God wants to be the answer to all your questions. He wants to be the beginning and the end of your journey.

If what controls your mind is guilt and shame, then you are at the right place. I Peter says that we are to cast our cares on him. Confession is a form of casting our cares, even worldly cares on him. When you confess your sins this morning corporately and individually, confess your fear of what others think of you and be reminded that this is where God re-orients your affections and fears.

Worship does all these things: it shapes and structures your thinking in a way that nothing else will. Worship is our way of saying to the world that what God says matters. In fact, it matters more than anything else. Worship is a prayer; a genuine prayer for God to be our all in all. Let us prepare our hearts for worship.

Prayer: Most merciful Father, we have indulged in sinful desires and we have acted in fear. We have made you too small and man too big. Help us to orient our hearts as we confess our sins and as we rise to sing your praises. We pray that you will answer us according to the promises you have made through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

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Mission and the World; opening introduction for our Lord’s Day Service

Grace, mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are at a unique stage in history; a stage when the world is now being exposed to the Gospel as fast as hitting the refresh button on your computer screen. We have today in our congregation someone who is developing software to facilitate the job of Bible translation, or as I call it “the modern gift of tongues.”

We have with us our speaker this morning, Rev. Blake Purcell, who has invested his life in the training and equipping of God’s people and the proclaiming of the reign of King Jesus in Eurasia, and who has served with zeal in what the Apostle Paul calls the “defense and confirmation of the Gospel.”

This morning we have the opportunity in worship, Sunday School, and later this evening to expand our world to see what God is doing in the world.

We have the opportunity to hear what one missiologist referred to as the “social continuation of the incarnation;” the work of the gospel going forth and continuing what began at Pentecost.

I pray that you will have ears to hear Pastor Blake Purcell, but beyond that, to be caught up into the vision of the kingdom of God.

Let us pray:

Father, Son, and Spirit, apart from your work, we are all dead and incapable of uttering an intelligible word, but by your grace you have enabled us to speak words of wisdom; words of gospel transformation; words of life. Hear us when we pray and beseech you to change the hearts of the lost and bring them into your everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Keep Yourselves from Idols

In one of the most lovely letters written in the Bible, I John– which we will be studying during Sunday School in July–the apostle encourages us by the example of Christ that our joy may be full. And then in chapter 5:21, which is the last verse of John’s first letter, we read this remarkable little exhortation: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

We will consider this in the sermon more fully, but before we bow down to the only true God, what idols are we carrying along with us, even this morning?

All those virtues that we treasure: love, trust, hope; all of them can be turned on their head. What do we truly love, hope, and trust in during times of pain? Who do we seek when our lives are turned upside down? If any of these answers do not find their joy ultimately in the God who is righteous and just (I Jn. 1:9), then we have not heeded John’s warnings.

Brothers and sisters, as we come and confess our sins this morning, confess that you have not loved, trusted, and hoped in God as you ought. Confess that you have sought other gods before him. Confess them, and be still, and know that He is God, and there is none other before him.

Prayer: God Almighty, Father, Son, and Spirit, strengthen us today by your great mercy and transform us into the image of your own beloved Son, whom we love, trust, and hope. Amen.

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Confessing our Envy

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 73:3 that I “was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” It is clear that as we come into worship this morning, we all have this one sin to confess: envy. At some time this week, we have desired something that someone else has. Maybe you desired that luxury car, perhaps that dark desire you pray no one ever finds out, or the celebrity life, whatever it may have been, you and I are guilty of envy. We have worshiped at the altar of my wants, my needs, and my feelings. We have placed our desires at the center of the world, and we want the world to answer them. “Envy reveals that there is still a war of treasure raging in our hearts.”[1]

What is that consuming thing without which our lives have no meaning?  What is it? Ponder that in your hearts as you come to worship this morning.

The purpose of worship is to direct your attention to the priorities of the kingdom, and in order to change our priorities we need to confess our envy. As Paul Tripp writes: “Loving God above all else means submitting all I want, all that I think I need, and all that I feel to his good, wise, loving, and holy lordship.”[2]

Prepare your hearts to confess how you have desired other things before the kingdom of God; confess your self-centeredness, and then be assured that the kingdom of God is within you.

Prayer: O gracious God, our hearts are full of envy. We imagine ourselves with a different life, and when we do so we forget to give you thanks for the gracious life you have given us. Do not allow us to drift from your goodness. This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

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Truth is Truth

Flannery O’Connor once wrote: “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” This is something we need to keep in mind in our day. What God has defined let no man put asunder. God provides the world with a divinely inspired dictionary, and in this dictionary there are no second editions.

In the modern day frenzy to discredit God’s creation and His purposes for Creation, we need to always come back to this simple reality: Truth is truth whether we can stomach it or not. This world may not be prepared for biblical authority, but it is our role to let them know that whether they are ready or not truth is truth.

And since this is the case, worship becomes even more central. Worship is God’s word spoken to us in a definitive and authoritative way. Our response to this word is to allow it to shape us to be the people who can communicate that word with and grace and truth. Let us prepare our hearts to receive this divine word.

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Exhortation: Good vs. Evil

The harsh reality of this fallen world sometimes causes us to lose hope of its restoration. The mass murders at the Gosnell abortion facility—which biblically is not to be differentiated from the actions of any abortion clinic in the country,– the evil protagonist of the Boston Marathon bombing are just for many confirmations of a hopeless philosophy that Christians cannot refuse. And there would be legitimacy to this philosophy were it not for this one event in history: we Christians refer to it as The Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

In the Resurrection of Jesus, creation itself begins to expect a renewed world. In the resurrection, the saints of God are given true hope to fight the good fight and to not allow one square inch of creation to act as if it is neutral.

When evil is perpetrated, we have the opportunity to either allow it to dominate the way we think of God’s world or we can begin to think Resurrection-like knowing that God is changing the world and laughing at the plans of evil men. Christians are called to believe that the Resurrection confronts evil in the Person of Jesus Christ and Christ has already won the victory. Let us celebrate that victory in worship this morning!

Prayer: O Lord God, cause our hearts to grieve over the calamities of our culture, but also to hope in the promises of your Risen Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Pastoral Meditation on God’s Justice for the Season of Lent

We treasure by our very nature as new creation beings (II Cor. 5) the justice of God upon injustice. We are imprecational beings. The Psalms are given for and to us for a particular reason. They are our prayers. They belong to righteous sons and daughters of the King. They are our means to communicate our hunger for justice in this world.

The blessedness of these prayers is that they begin to shape us in a new way. Mixed with the blessings of the covenant are the many curses the covenant brings to those who despise Yahweh. Of course, God’s judgments are pure and perfect and they are acted upon in His time and way. Since this is the case, they usually befuddle our expectations. And naturally, this can be frustrating. While we live in this justice-paradox, we also live knowing that God does not forget His justice. Though time passes painfully for us, God is not emotionally moved by His passion to see His Name and children vindicated.

So as we seek the kingdom of God above all else, let us also seek His justice in that kingdom. And while we do, let us continue to pray faithfully and continue to wait patiently for the God of war to act. His kingdom will prevail and His justice will not fail.

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Exhortation: Remembering the Works of Yahweh

In Isaiah 43, Yahweh, the Covenant Lord, says that He is making something new. He is re-creating the world. He proves that by making a way in the wilderness and making rivers run through the desert. Why would God perform such works? “That the people He formed might declare His praise.”

The Lenten Season is a season to remember the works of God. As Christians, we meditate with gladness not only on His present work for us, but also His past work on our behalf. This is why Lent is a season where we practice the art of remembering our Lord’s death. Jesus, fulfilling Isaiah, became a drink to His chosen people; Jesus gave His life that we might live and declare His praises. And this is what we do as we enter into worship. God is re-creating us and causing us to see that His works for us in the past are the guarantee that He will do it again for us in the present and in the future.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, you feed us with by Your Spirit; You make a way for us when we believe there is no way possible. All these things You do so that we might declare your praise. Enlarge our hearts with gratitude, strengthen our faith with hope, and build us up in praise that we might ever remember your works for us, Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.

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Exhortation: Church Covenant Series, Part IV

We come to the fourth part of our Church Covenant, which states:

We will reject all heretical beliefs and practices, using Scripture as our final authority.

This is a strong statement with profound repercussions. We are asking as a Church that you submit to something greater than yourself. In particular, to submit to the authority of the Bible. We live in a culture that despises authority. But God has formed this world with authority structures in it. It’s not that the Bible is our only authority, God has given us other authorities– pastors, parents, and leaders– but what we are saying is that the Bible is our final authority. And that means that pastors, parents, and leaders need to submit to this one authority.

We also reject heretical beliefs. If it does not align itself to the God of Scriptures who is reveled in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, then it must be abandoned. First things, as long as God graces us with His mercy, will always remain first things in this congregation. And it is your duty as members to ensure that it remains this way.

But bad ideas leads also to bad practices. And this is perhaps what makes us unique in this culture. We do treasure practices at Providence that in some ways are long forgotten in our culture. Our view of the Church, worship, families, and marriage, all shape who we are as a people. These practices challenge our passivity and causes us to hunger for righteousness.

This is why as a Church we want to encourage, exhort, and be a source of strength to our members here who are striving to live the life of faith amidst a faithless world. If God’s revelation guides us as a people, then we can safely walk in the paths of truth and godliness.

Prayer: O God of truth, change us to reflect truth daily and live unto You. May our hearts not be far from you, but ever seek your face. On this holy day, we pray that you would cause our lives to embody the truths of your Holy Word, and may be now and forever a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.