July 18, 2010
The Announcement
So, John Boyer made an announcement today. What did you think? What did you hear? Post a comment for a free drink at the Southern Gables Cafe!
July 15, 2010
Upcoming Doctrinal Study
We will wrap up our study of Colossians over the next two weeks (the 18th and 25th of July), then, beginning in August, we intend to consider a few theological topics. A good way to approach this type of study is by examining our doctrinal statement. So here is the question: Which four (or five) of the following ten statements would you like to learn more about? (John and I discussed looking at numbers 2, 7, 8, and 9; however, we want your input and are open to other suggestions).
God
1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus Christ
4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus-Israel’s promised Messiah-was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ
5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Church
7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
Christian Living
8. We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ's Return
9. We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny
10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
God
1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus Christ
4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus-Israel’s promised Messiah-was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ
5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Church
7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
Christian Living
8. We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ's Return
9. We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny
10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
Searching
As the search is an on-going, long process of finding our next Senior pastor, I am encouraged by your continued support and encouragement as a member of the committee. Thank you for listening, asking questions, and responding to the short announcement I made this week regarding the search.
Continue to pray for our Church Leadership (the Elders are a strong group of men who seek only to serve the Lord with wisdom), the Candidates we become engaged with, and the Congregation as we are growing weary. Let us not tire from the process, but grow from it, as fruit grows. Like our Summer Series digs in to, Paul's writings to the Galatians hold true:
"But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
Continue to pray for our Church Leadership (the Elders are a strong group of men who seek only to serve the Lord with wisdom), the Candidates we become engaged with, and the Congregation as we are growing weary. Let us not tire from the process, but grow from it, as fruit grows. Like our Summer Series digs in to, Paul's writings to the Galatians hold true:
"But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
July 2, 2010
The Core of Colossians 3:1-17
On Sunday, June 27th, we examined Colossians 3:1-17. I attempted to emphasize the fact that the Christian way of life Paul advocates in this text is shaped by his understanding of the Kingdom of God as being a present reality that has yet to be fully manifested. That is, the reign of God has started in Christ’s first coming, but it will not be completely consummated until his second coming. This already/not yet tension with regard to God’s rule is dubbed inaugurated eschatology in theological terms (i.e., the beginning of the last things, the end of this age and the beginning of the age to come). The main idea is this: because of God’s grace we have been justified and brought under his glorious reign; therefore, we ought to live accordingly. In short, our current lifestyle should “fit with” or “correspond to” the age to come.
In Colossians, Paul states several things that God has already graciously done for us as the theological basis for his ethical exhortation. Namely, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ, we have received the circumcision of Christ (the sign of membership in God’s people), we have been reckoned dead to the elemental spirits of this world having been buried with Christ, and we have been forgiven our sins and given new life on account of having been raised with him by the power of God. As God’s holy and beloved, chosen ones, we are to become who we are. In other words, we are to develop in the present time the character traits that anticipate who we are destined to be in the coming age.
According to the apostle Paul, this process of character formation is not automatic, we must actively seek things above, set our mind on things above, take off and set aside what is sinful, and put on the characteristics of Christ. Too often we make the mistake of viewing spiritual formation in terms of two humans cooperating with each other on a task: whatever one person does the other refrains from doing. That is, if we are to do the work, God must not be involved or vice versa. However, God’s sanctifying work in our lives is not like that. Rather, the Spirit permeates all our practices. His grace undergirds and empowers all our efforts to “put on” this new kingdom way of life. Nevertheless, the point still stands – we are not passive participants in the process. We must put forth moral effort in cooperation with the Spirit’s work in our lives. (Note: exhibiting moral effort in the process of sanctification has nothing to do with earning or meriting salvation; on the contrary, the fact that we are already saved by grace alone through faith alone is the underlying motivation for our moral make-over under the direction of the Holy Spirit).
In contrast to the sinful way of life that destroys fellowship and discriminates among persons, the new life of the age to come cultivates a caring community that cherishes everyone. This everlasting life of the new heaven and new earth is characterized by compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, love, peace, and thanksgiving. It is the life we were created for, the life we were redeemed for, and the life we are exhorted to exhibit in the here and now.
Remember, there will be no Sunday School on the Fourth of July. Then, on Sunday, July 11th, John will continue our study of Colossians by looking at how this new way of life ought to manifest itself in our households.
In Colossians, Paul states several things that God has already graciously done for us as the theological basis for his ethical exhortation. Namely, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ, we have received the circumcision of Christ (the sign of membership in God’s people), we have been reckoned dead to the elemental spirits of this world having been buried with Christ, and we have been forgiven our sins and given new life on account of having been raised with him by the power of God. As God’s holy and beloved, chosen ones, we are to become who we are. In other words, we are to develop in the present time the character traits that anticipate who we are destined to be in the coming age.
According to the apostle Paul, this process of character formation is not automatic, we must actively seek things above, set our mind on things above, take off and set aside what is sinful, and put on the characteristics of Christ. Too often we make the mistake of viewing spiritual formation in terms of two humans cooperating with each other on a task: whatever one person does the other refrains from doing. That is, if we are to do the work, God must not be involved or vice versa. However, God’s sanctifying work in our lives is not like that. Rather, the Spirit permeates all our practices. His grace undergirds and empowers all our efforts to “put on” this new kingdom way of life. Nevertheless, the point still stands – we are not passive participants in the process. We must put forth moral effort in cooperation with the Spirit’s work in our lives. (Note: exhibiting moral effort in the process of sanctification has nothing to do with earning or meriting salvation; on the contrary, the fact that we are already saved by grace alone through faith alone is the underlying motivation for our moral make-over under the direction of the Holy Spirit).
In contrast to the sinful way of life that destroys fellowship and discriminates among persons, the new life of the age to come cultivates a caring community that cherishes everyone. This everlasting life of the new heaven and new earth is characterized by compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, love, peace, and thanksgiving. It is the life we were created for, the life we were redeemed for, and the life we are exhorted to exhibit in the here and now.
Remember, there will be no Sunday School on the Fourth of July. Then, on Sunday, July 11th, John will continue our study of Colossians by looking at how this new way of life ought to manifest itself in our households.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)