Relationship at the Table

John 15:1, 4-5 - I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser....  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

The Lord’s table is a place to be fed by our great shepherd Jesus (1 Peter 5:1-4).
And it is a place to cast your cares on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7).

The family table can be a chaotic time with infants and toddlers around.  But as they grow, the table is a place to share your heart with your family.  Fathers and mothers should lead in this, and then invite their children to contribute.  

We practice deeper fellowship at the table.  And we get that from THIS table, where the Spirit is joining us with Christ Himself.

Helping before Criticizing

Hebrews 4:15 - "We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."

We'll be looking at the Incarnation in the Catechism reading today (WSC 20).  Part of the comfort of the Incarnation is that Jesus Christ can sympathize with our weakness, and our temptations.

Not only CAN He, sympathize with us.  He DOES.

The point of conviction for us today: do we sympathize with the struggles of our neighbors?

So often we are looking out for our own troubles, and all we see in our children, or our spouses, is how they aren’t measuring up.  We are quick to criticize, to condemn others, not noticing the struggle going on in them.  But our Savior doesn’t break a bruised reed (Isaiah 42:3), He doesn’t snuff out a smoldering candle.  Let us help the weak wherever we can.

2/27/22

Diagnosis of Society // Abortion // Conservatives Leaving Churches

Carl Trueman describes well modern society, which explains a myriad of our problems.
 - People think that because they can manipulate their image with technology, that they can manipulate their bodies as they see fit.
 - Elites trash the past, instead of passing on the best of it to the next generation.

An interesting thesis here: "Abortion won't stop until the world sees it."

Doug Wilson responds to JD Greer's assertion that right-leaning Christians are more often the problem in church, now.  Quite good.

How to talk to people who support LGBT

Here is a response I gave to a socially liberal Christian friend, who wonders why we wouldn't love LGBT people, instead of oppose their lifestyle.

Hi _______, thanks for writing. The short answer to your comment is that the church is called to be a witness to the world, how God wants His creation to function. Men sleeping with men, and boys acting as girls are direct violations of His Word. We should love and respect them, of course, as people made in God's image. But that means in part telling them the truth and seeing them as morally confused, at best.

I think you are morally confused yourself, if you're shocked that boys and girls using the same bathroom is a big deal to parents. Protecting children with modesty and privacy from illicit sexual activity used to be a given, until this new wave of the sexual revolution came along. And the way I've heard Kevin DeYoung put it, it is the daughters going to school themselves who deprive themselves of water so they won't have to use the bathroom - it isn't over-protective parents forbidding them to do so.

We should be teaching people to accept the station in life that God gave them, not training them to over-ride God's providence in their biology with their own feelings about who they are. Refusing the "state your pronouns" nonsense is an important signal that Christians should not accept their premise: YOU tell us who you are, instead of us seeing who you are from how God put you together.
We do not and may not define ourselves by our feelings.

Suspended for Warning against the Woke

Gregory Schulz, Lutheran pastor and professor, is my hero today.

He wrote an article, warning of the woke agenda in their search for a new college president.

For it, he has been suspended/fired by the college.

The interim president has said only this.

There is a petition with some more detail here.

And this summary - with some action you can take at the bottom.

Trusting the wrong things

Psalm 20:7 - "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of Yahweh our God."

God’s people have always been tempted to trust in horses and chariots.  In Augustine’s day the barbarians were invading Rome bit by bit.  The Roman Christians were freaking out that their earthly security was vanishing before their eyes.  Augustine wrote the City of God to remind them – their hope in the Roman empire was built on a pagan foundation bound to crumble.  But the city of God would outlast every earthly power.

 

As C.S. Lewis wrote somewhere, we need to beware of "Christianity And."

Christianity And America’s greatness

Christianity And Homeschooling

Christianity And Liturgy

Christianity And my favorite podcast

Christianity And consistent parenting

Many of these are good things Jesus wants us to do or value.  But they aren’t our ultimate redeemer, as the Shorter Catechism speaks of Jesus Christ as our only redeemer in Q&A 21.  God calls us to use them, but we don’t trust methods or teachers, or any earthly thing, ultimately.  Keep your trust and faith only in Jesus Christ.

Q21. Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect? 
A. The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one Person, forever.

2/20/22

Game of Thrones review

 

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So I spent the last year or so chipping away slowly at this work of cultural garbage, to stay up on what is popular in the world today.

The TV series was notorious for its graphic sex and violence, and it seems it was just copying the book, which was bad enough. Martin depicts incest, beheading, rape, and the more common methods of breaking the 6th and 7th commandments, all as an afterthought. “This is the way the world is.” While the focus lies elsewhere:

1. This is another counterfeit fantasy world, akin to Narnia or Middle Earth, with all the Christian worldview sucked out, and post-modern assumptions stuffed in. The gods are viewed cynically as cruel or absent. The world is a patriarchy all about power. Everyone has an agenda different from yours, so you have to fight for yourself against everyone (close family included).
It dawned on me as I read, that this is the way unbelievers view Christendom. They distort a proper view of the world and see only power and cruelty, with trace amounts of kindness as a rare exception. When the actual institutions of a civil society are meant to uplift everyone, not keep anyone down.

2. This was the perfect book to read along with Carl Trueman’s Modern Self. Game of Thrones popularizes the academic belief that individuals need to struggle for free expression and to find their own identity, against the oppression of the patriarchy or whatever power structure is holding you down. And you should use any means necessary to do so, because your desires are the highest good.

The writing shines at times. Martin has some skill in depicting a place at large, and then zooming in to a sympathetic character caught up in it.

But don’t waste your time reading or viewing this series, unless you are in need of understanding how people are encountering post-modernity on the street, to help lift them out of it. Then maybe, though there are probably better options.

View all my reviews

Eating and Proclaiming Christ, among the Nations

Psalm 96:3 - Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

This table, this worship service, is not meant as a place to hide from the world, to keep them from knowing what is going on here.  To keep us safe from their prying eyes.  No, this table is set in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23).  We proclaim His death until He comes.  We still have the world, the flesh, and the devil opposing us as we follow Jesus Christ.  But this table is the best way to arm ourselves with the mind of Christ (1 Peter 4:1), to prepare for trouble.  He made the ultimate sacrifice to bring us to God.  Surely, we can make lesser sacrifices for Him.

And, as a result of His sacrifice, He has received the ultimate exaltation and blessing as a result.  We too will be blessed and exalted with life and reward as we trust and follow Him.

2/13/22

What Is Our Misery?

In a moment we’ll read the catechism (Westminster Shorter, 17-19), which reminds us that our situation is one of sinfulness, and one of misery.  We are guilty, and we lack the righteousness we need to be accepted by the holy God.  Our misery is that we have lost communion with God.  That’s the biggest one, and why communion on the Lord’s Day is such a big deal – our relationship with God has been restored in Christ, thank God.  But it is important to recall that apart from Christ, all men remain under God’s wrath, and under His curse.  We are consigned fairly to death and hell forever.

Romans 1:18-21 tells us that we deserve this, since He makes Himself known well enough for us to be guilty when we turn from Him.  We refuse to glorify Him or thank Him, for our life and all His gifts.  And this is a damnable offense.

This reminds us of our need to confess our sins.

2/13/22

Romans 1:18-21

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q17. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

A17. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.

 

Q18.  Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto

         man fell?

A18.  The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell consists in

the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all transgressions which proceed from it.

 

Q19. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?

A19. All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are

under His wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.

A Pastoral Letter on Tithing

Hi Jake,

You asked about tithing, now that you "have a church."

Please share this with Sherrie, and talk about it together!

1. Theology of tithing

 - Scripture

Deuteronomy 14:22-27

2 Corinthians 9

 - Required?

Those who make more of a contrast between Old and New testaments, usually assert that 2 Cor. 9 overrides the requirement of a tithe.  Give what you are led to give, without any mandated percentage.

Reformed theology, which holds OT and NT more closely together, tends to say the tithe requirement is still applicable.  My view is the latter, but I don't press it with those who genuinely read the Bible the other way.

 - to church?

Your podcast friend is right.  Your tithe should go to the priest/temple (in the Old Testament) - now to the place where you are pastored and taught and fed (1 Cor 9:13-14).  Not to a parachurch ministry.  Again, you don't have to be over-scrupulous about this.  There have been times we've given about 8-9% to church, and 1% to some other missionary or ministry.  But the goal - achievable in the near-term! - is "Tithes and offerings:"  10% to church for sure, then whatever more you can and want to give to church or other places.  Lots of people give lip service to how important the church is, but the vast majority of their giving goes elsewhere.

2. Cool liturgy connections

It is from the Deuteronomy 14 passage above that we derive our offering practice.

The offerings are given to the priest, and transformed by him/Jesus/God, through a sacrifice not our own, into a feast that God gives us to eat.  So we bring the offering forward, while singing "Lamb of God," put it on the communion table, and then proceed to the feast of Communion.  In the OT, the animal was divided up among the worshiper, the priest, and the poor.  Our offerings are the same: some goes to pay for the communion supplies, some to the benevolence fund, some to missionaries, and some to the pastor!  Our yearly budget is coming out soon, where we plan this out.

3. Starting, practically

I would not feel the need to tithe on past income received, as you wondered.  Just start now, with the next checks you receive.  Make it cash flow based.  If you get a direct deposit or check, write a check for 10% of it right away to church.  This is the "firstfruits" principle.  God gets the first 10%, not whatever is left.  Giving each time you come to church is a good practice - see Psalm 96:8 and 1 Cor. 16:2.  I get paid monthly, so we divide by 4/5 Sundays in the week, to give weekly.  Others give as often as they get paid.

4. Starting smaller?

Many people have a really tight budget that would make it a burden to go from zero to tithing 10% immediately.  It's okay to start smaller until you can find more room.  5%, 3%?  The amount isn't important at first, so much as just to get in the practice of giving.  But I would urge getting to 10% as quickly as feasible, without breaking important financial commitments.

5. Direct Deposit mechanics

Many people prefer to give online today.  I mildly lean against this.  As we should worship in person, physically, so we probably should give physically, too.  "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service/worship" (Rom 12:1-2).  So, if you're making the effort to get to church on time and present your bodies, it's a bit incongruous to try to be ultra convenient regarding the offering online.  But, then again, many people don't bother with checks at all anymore.  Cash is an option, but then there is no record of giving, for a tax deduction, which I find very reasonable to claim (the deduction increased substantially for 2021).  And you ARE presenting your bodies before the Lord, and the offering is happening corporately, so it's not a huge deal.  It can be a burden on small churches without the online giving capacity, but members can usually set up payment with their own bank, too, I understand.

6. Tithe on net or gross income?

This is a perennial stickler of a question.  Many are exasperated by it - such a minor question.  But you do want to be clear in your conscience that you are meeting God's standard in this (Malachi 3:8!).

I would advise starting with net, to keep it simple.  You might be of a mind just to stay there, as delving further into details may be "straining out gnats."  

But some of those details would be:

1 - I wouldn't tithe on retirement contributions.  Plan to tithe on those when you receive them.  Or tithe on them now, and don't when you receive them.  No need to tithe both times.

2 - Taxes: 

a. The argument to tithe on net income.

Your "increase" is what the gov't lets you keep.

Tithe on net throughout the year, and if you get a refund, tithe on that, since you didn't before.

b. The argument to tithe on gross income

God gets his tithe before the government gets their cut (even though they scheme to get their cut first, via withholdings!).

Tithe on gross throughout the year, checking your pay stubs.

If you get a refund, tithe nothing, as you've already paid on it.

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an astonishingly excellent book. A must-read for every pastor, professor, and Christian who can follow his writing.

Trueman writes with a fairly academic tone, which won’t reach the uninterested masses. But the deliberate Christian with a high school, or some college, education can learn a TON here, if they work at it.

The basic thesis is that we have come to think of ourselves as defined by our feelings. We are expressive individualists. As Justice Anthony Kennedy famously put it in an awful SCOTUS ruling, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”

Trueman dissects where this crazy idea came from, how it has gotten us to transgenderism and other nightmares, and where it may take us. Hint: twitter mobs, woke-ism, and cancel culture are all the result of this.

Only GOD defines our “concept of existence,” since He made us. Our elites now consciously reject this. But Trueman deals deftly, not just ranting against our elites, but diagnosing how each of us think and feel this way, as a result of absorbing this nonsense from our culture (TV, movies, etc.). Many Christians in otherwise conservative churches, see their own feelings and sensitivities as the center of the moral universe. If I am offended, that is the end and focus of the matter. Never mind that my feelings may be askew, and need moderating or correcting.

Please, please, please, pick up this book and study it. It is a marvelous blend of history applied to where we are culturally now. Historical perspective is important for any question, and Carl Trueman delivers in spades, here!

View all my reviews

Covid Response // Jan 6 as Pretext for Revolution // Help for the Discouraged

 I found the article "Needle Points" very informative regarding society's covid response.  A solid, reasonable argument for the vax reluctant from a vaccinated psychiatrist, which diagnoses the hysteria on both sides of the issue.  It is also on Jordan Peterson's podcast in audio form.  It is well worth your time.

Carl Trueman gets it right, on the Jan. 6 riot.  I highly commend World Opinion and anything Trueman writes.

Deep encouragement here!  If you are discouraged by your situation, Samaritan Ministries offers counsel with this article.  Satan uses illusion and fear to take our eyes off of Jesus.  Don't let him.

On the Death of a Mentor in the Faith

There have been many tributes to Gregg Strawbridge online.

I’d like to take a different approach here.

What urgency does Pastor Gregg Strawbridge’s death bring to mind for us, as Christians, and as church leaders?

 

1. Our mortality.

Gregg’s death was sudden.  He had heart issues years earlier and was more health conscious when I was closer to him 5-7 years ago.  He was a regular at the gym for years.  I believe our health choices make some difference, but God calls us home on HIS time.  We cannot delay it by being more health conscious.  This is not an argument to be slack as stewards of our bodies.  Gregg was at the GYM when he died.  But if it is God’s time for us, then it is His time.  They say we tend to over-estimate how much we can accomplish in a year, but under-estimate how much we can accomplish in 5 years.  I would add that God may take us home at year 3, so we need to hold our plans and earthly goals loosely.  Pastors should have as one of their long term aims in ministry, to help their people think biblically about the death of loved ones, and to prepare them for their own death.

 

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15).

 

 

2. Our rising leaders.

Gregg was passionately motivated to train new leaders for the ministry.  At our council meeting three months ago, he gathered for a picture with (by my count) 12 ministerial students, SIX of whom are now CREC pastors.  He trained and mentored these men virtually single-handedly – what a fruitful ministry!

 

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

 

 

3. Our unity 

Gregg was immersed in theological debates.

Infant baptism with James White.  Federal Vision, between James Jordan and Douglas Wilson.

Sometimes he asserted his views, regarding post-millennialism, and paedo-baptism.

Sometimes he called for unity among differences – “we don’t have to divide over this!”

He was always expositional and conciliatory, which was a real blessing to the church.

 

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:1-6).

 

Whatever your church background, consider these three things.

They are deeply important to our spiritual life together.