A Message from Pastor Dave...2004 Archives |
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11/3/04 Reeling In the Years Beloved, Our community life and food for thought: With the victory of President Bush the Lord has granted unto us His kindness. However, we still murder over 1 million babies a year and the sodomy fight is still on. The Church did not take seriously the kindness of the Lord over the past four years. I hope we do this time. Because if our future choices for President are the pro-choice and pro-sodomy Rudy G. or Hilary Rodham this is only a temporary reprieve before the storm. May the Church be found faithful before her Husband and Lord and may the Lord grant to us better days for His kingdom. One thing is for sure, Christ ruled over this election for the Church (while being very kind to the military) and so we should be thankful and faithful to the covenant. On with the news. This Lord's Day we return to our study of My Life For Yours by Douglas Wilson. Please have chapter 8 read and ready to go for Sunday School. In Covenant Renewal Worship our sermon series on Liturgy and Covenant Renewal will come to an end. Please pray for the sermon. I have not been able to use my study for the previous two weeks (rain damage) and this has been particularly difficult on the studying. In the Lord's kindness and my father's sacrifice (along with Jon E. and Drew L) some of this is heading for recovery even as we speak. Our Liturgy this week will have a series of responsive readings and a written corporate confession of sin. Please come early to familiarize yourself with the Worship Folder so that you will be prepared for worship. A day of rest. This Lord's Day is free for hospitality or rest as you please. After worship we will have no formal GRC gathering save at your own doing. It is nice every once in a while to celebrate the Lord's Day low key. Saint Augustine College students do not forget that your final Calvin Term paper is due this coming Monday night. Also,as the Bucer Term begins please do not forget to do your reading in the City of God by St. Augustine for Monday the 8th. Please remember the two mid-week studies tonight at the Ford's and tomorrow night at the Erickson's. Our Thanksgiving Festival will be the Lord's Day November 21. Please plan to spend this day together in thanksgiving to the Lord for His goodness to us His people. Lord Bless you all! Serving Christ and you, Pastor David Wherever I can study at Calvin Culdesac 10/28/04 Had Time Beloved, My intention this Lord's Day is to preach on 'The Mystical Presence'. This means an exposition of the Reformed and Calvinistic Doctrine of the Holy Eucharist or Lord's Supper. My pastoral goal is to be as absolutely clear as I can with respect to something that is in the words of John Calvin 'better felt than understood'. I am convinced in every way that John Calvin was soundly biblical in his doctrine of the Lord's Table but that Martin Luther or Ulrich Zwingli were not. But the heritage that we are used to is Zwinglian so the Calvinian can be shocking. However shocking it may be, I believe it is biblical and central. I also believe that John Calvin himself can speak to this better than I can. So I am going to do something in this sermon that I rarely do... and that is to let John Calvin do some of the talking himself through his own voice in writing. You will have a small hand-out in your worship folder of John Calvin's thoughts on the Eucharist. In one stretch of my sermon I will refer to this and we will hear from him and then from me explaining him a bit. I believe that it will be so helpful for you to see it for yourself. Also remember that there are many different things going on at the Lord's Table and we will only be focusing on one and it is this: it is here that we are lifted up to Christ to receive His life. Wow, I can't wait. Lord bless you all! Serving Christ and you, Pastor David Cranmer Library at Calvin Culdesac 7/15/04 Worship Beloved, I am a wee bit discouraged as to the 'distractive nature' of our Covenant Renewal Worship on the Lord's Day. We are still not yet even close to being ready for Worship when the 'Call To Worship' begins. Even though the music normally begins to play at 10:10a.m., there are still ridiculously long lines at the bathroom and way too many people still outside at 10:15a.m. It almost takes the entire 15 minutes up to the sermon for things to finally be settled. This is something that with our theology of Worship and vision of the Triune God should just not be. It is slack and lazy and God seems to be getting less on His day than your job on Monday in terms of punctuality and preparedness. Beloved listen, there is NO part of the Liturgy that is just a filler. Every part of the Liturgy is suffused with significance and enormous consequences. When we worship the Triune God aright, rebellious kingdoms fall and blessings flow to God's people. When we worship God wrongly, the godless advance and the Church suffers (and that includes you as a part of the Church). From the Call to Worship (Where the Almighty Father is calling you His children) to the Confession of Sin (where the Faithful Son/Bridegroom is cleansing His Bride) to the Consecration by the Word preached (where the Holy Spirit is slaying living sacrifices in His Temple... you and your children) to the Communion Table (where the Father feeds His children with the Life of His Son by the Spirit and bread and wine... life you must have) to the Commission To Go (where the Triune God sends you forth into His world now that the Covenant is renewed so that your work contributes to the remaking of the world) all of this is the way of life for us as God's people. All of our responses: Lord's Prayer, Confession of Sin, Confession of Creed, Praise in Psalm and Hymn, Prayer, Tithes, Trusting, Receiving and Going reveal our Covenant union and communion with the living God. Every single part of the Liturgy is thus essential. We must be prepared, attentive and participate like the sons and daughters, bride and temple that we are. This means a little more maturity out of us and our children than has been shown lately. May God be pleased to grant this to us this coming Lord's Day. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Flying Inn 7/15/04 Welcome Back Beloved, On behalf of those prayed for last night... thanks. Thank you for your faithfulness as a congregation in the things that matter. One of the areas where 'Triune Life' is enacted and displayed most gloriously is in prayer for one-another. Remember this when you pray as I was reminded by David Chilton: "There is no power in prayer. Prayer is a child going to His Father who has all power to accomplish and effect." This is such a helpful reminder that our Father loves to hear His children and is glad in His time to show His strong arm. And when He shows it, let us be glad and thankful and never forgetful of His gracious benefits. May the Lord bless you today. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Flying Inn 6/24/04 Welcome Back Beloved, We are back from Washington...and glad. The Lord was very kind to us on our preaching trip and for that we are grateful. Also, if you receive emails that have even just a tinge of authority or 'weak rebuke reminder'... take it like a man please! Sometimes we all need just a little kick or reminder on certain things. The elders can't always live in fear of offense at every little turn. Let's get a little more 'Chestertonian' here than we are. I say all this because... a sermon is coming on this next item sometime in July...but since we will have a lot of Church life before this... I offer the following and expect it to be taken properly... There has been some offense taken lately by some in the Church over what they consider to be 'some abuse' of our Christian liberties in the areas of the 'drinking' and the 'smoking'. Without stealing the thunder from the sermon (coming in mid to latter part of July) which is a better place to deal with it, simply consider the following. The privilege of drinking does not mean the abuse of drinking too much and becoming too happy. The privilege of drinking does not mean that the 'stuff'' just has to show up at every single thing the Church does or every time the Church gets together. The privilege of the 'shire weed' does not mean that it has to show up every time the Church gathers for fellowship. Sometimes for health and other reasons it cuts others off from fellowship because of the smoke. In consideration of the weaker and visitors and others who take offense, we should be a little more circumspect about our children's participation in these activities. PLEASE do not take this as an email trying to lead our Church back to the 'fundamentalist stone age'. It is not in any way intended to take us back... but rather to move us a little forward to a more mature use of these good gifts of creation. They are good. They are good gifts of creation. They should be enjoyed. They should be enjoyed gladly in the context of Church life. All of this is glorious and good. I gladly relish it in every way. However, there are others... circumstances... concerns that should lead us to a little better mind and practice of these goods. There will be no list or calendar forthcoming from me as to 'when we can and should and should not or wold not'. I simply expect a mature Triune Life response from everyone. And the proper teaching of our children. This email is being sent because the elders have to say a little something now because some in our congregation who have come to us are waiting for our response and this is at least a beginning. The sermon in latter July will be much better. Consider others! Consider others as more important than yourself and your liberties. If you are receiving this email it is because I read it to my lovely wife and she gave it a thumbs up. We love you all, Pastor David The Flying Inn 5/25/04 Had Time Beloved, Had a minute checking my emails so I thought that I would drop a short line. In preparation for my two sermons this Lord's Day that will both be out of the book of Proverbs (we return to 2Peter the following Lord's Day, we have a handful of people out of town this Lord's Day who would really like to hear the next section in 2Peter so I am graciously obliging) I was reminded of the importance of the 'Antithesis'. The antithesis was established by God when He placed enmity between the seed of the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman. Therefore in the world there is unbelieving and believing thinking and living that are at war with one-another. God has established this war, so let us not try to reconcile enemies but simply fight on God's side. This we do by bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ in His Word. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Flying Inn 5/24/04 One Email Beloved, This will probably be the only (yeah for you ) email that you will receive from me this week. I have a brutal week of sermon prep, meetings, visits, services, Wednesday Night, my daughters braces and piano guild and so on. So, just a short note. On my day off today I read R.C. Sproul Jr.'s book on the covenant family entitled 'Bound For Glory'. The book is not very deep in many ways so does not ultimately satisfy for those who have been through Doug Wilson's 'Standing On The Promises'. However, for a refresher, for a reminder, for an introduction and for some specific emphases this is a great little book. By far the most important theme in the book (outside of the covenant) is the emphasis on the family, the building of the Kingdom, and the winning of the truly spiritual war. R.C. Jr. has a keen understanding of the battle in history between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the Woman who is Christ and His Church. He also fully believes that Christ's Kingdom will be victorious in history before He returns. This little book situates the family in this context and is both challenging in it's militant call and delightful to read. I highly recommend it. Gotta go! Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Flying Inn 5/22/04 One More! Beloved, I know many of you are praying that my computer would break. However, just one more thought. I find it compelling in many ways that certain sons' have taken a Christian legacy from their fathers and have gone on and built deeper and wider and more biblically than their fathers. They could not have done this apart from their father's legacy. Yet they do not stay there, they go on, further up and further in. Two cases in point are R.C. Sproul, Jr. and Douglas Wilson. We are even able to see in Nathan Wilson going on further in this. I think this is compelling and important for fathers and sons to consider. Done! Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red reading Chair 5/21/04 Another Quote Beloved, If you have not yet read the C.S. Lewis quote, please go read that first and then return to this one. This quotation is from Dorothy Sayers in her book Creed or Chaos? Dorothy Sayers is famous to us for writing the booklet: The Lost Tools of Learning. Here is the quote: "It is, however, well to note that where Christianity is concerned, a total retreat from the material world is not merely heretical but impossible; for the central Christian doctrine is precisely that of God incarnate in matter, its central act of worship the bodily receiving of God's substance in the sacrament of bread and wine (I would have said that a little differently but this is a quotation and a great one at that) and its unique eschatological expectation the Resurrection of the Flesh." Amen and amen. Pretty obvious I do not get to preach this week huh? Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Flying Inn 5/21/04 A Quote Beloved, The following is a quote from C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity. I wish that I would have written this quotation. This is believe. This I believe. This I believe. "There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses things like bread and wine to put the life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it." You would think by our anti-sacramentalism that we were bodiless. We are so afraid of God using His own creation in redemption that we act like we are angels and not men. God saved the elect angels without means simply by a sovereign decree. God does not deal with us in the way of Angels. Yes, our election by decree is some sense the same. But our election is 'in Christ' who for us men and for our salvation became man... yes became man. Became stuff... just like us sans sin. And it is through His life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension alone that we are saved. That is applied to us in baptism and continually given at the Table until the end and our end here. We receive it by faith alone. Faith in Christ alone. We trust in Christ alone. The living Christ is our hope. We believe on Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. Call on the name of the Lord and be saved. But the water, bread and wine do not get in the way. They are God's way of giving us Christ. So look to Christ... Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Flying Inn 5/18/04 Spiritual Growth Beloved, I have been confronted recently by a charge concerning spiritual growth and our Church. Do not worry about the source and all of that, just consider some of these thoughts if you are ever in a similar position. We must first remember that spiritual growth is defined by God in His Holy Word and not by the evangelical-goo-culture of the Christian Bookstore. Secondly, spiritual growth is set before us in God's Word not as a tickling sensation between your toes and on your left shoulder blade, but as Christian maturity and wisdom. Thirdly, spiritual growth is not individualistic, it is Trinitarian. This means that it has to do with both the individual and the covenant community...the Church. This also means that spiritual growth is hierarchical, meaning that we manifest this wisdom and maturity in the relationships that God has given us with others. Children who say they are growing spiritually while at the same time dishonoring or disobeying their parents are liars and fools. Husbands who say they are growing spiritually while they are consistently harsh and distant from their wives are covenant hypocrites and so on. Spiritual growth is incarnational. That means it comes out your fingers and toes to those who are above you and below you. Fourthly, spiritual growth is not Gnostic. The means for spiritual growth are not primarily the private but rather are manifestly the public. This means that our spiritual growth is dependant upon faithful hearing and doing of God's Word and faithful participation in the Sacraments. Fifthly, spiritual growth is earthy. What this means is that you are becoming a better and better employee/employer as you mature and bear wise fruit. What all of this requires of course is an exuberant sanctifying of the Lord's Day and the mid-week gathering and to stay as far away from the programs as possible after that. We need the 7 hours and the other fellowship/hospitality opportunities. But beyond that we need the family altar, family worship, family reading, family feasting and family fun time. Ah...yes! And this is growing spiritually. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David Cranmer Library 5/17/04 A Gay Day Beloved, Obviously what is going on in Massachusetts is an abomination to the Lord of 'one man and one woman in covenant for life.' We must realize the ugliness of our situation. The god of America is the political process. However, the Bible tells us not to trust in chariots and horses but in the name of the Lord our God. Our daughters are on the front lines in Iraq protecting us from the Islamic thugs. God says that we are under His judgment when our daughters go to war to protect us. And now the 'sodomites' are all flying to New England so the news can flaunt the judgment of God in our face. Homosexuality is itself a judgment from God and the cause of more judgment. We trust in idols, send our daughters and flaunt our perversion. It is amazing grace that we are still here. We are still here of course because God loves His Church, Jesus His bride and the Holy Spirit His temple. The ONLY reason this whole thing has not yet come apart at the seams is because of the weak Church that God still loves and Jesus is still building by His Spirit, Word and Sacraments. However, we should be prepared for it to get a whole lot uglier in our culture of death before we see any kind of resurrection. I am not an eschatological pessimist, but I am willing to acknowledge the writing on the wall. If we are sodomites we are and shall be judged. However, in God's timing the leaven of the gospel will leaven the whole lump and the Kingdom of God will be triumphant in history even in this land. We need to be wise in our generation and not look to 'American sentiment' but to God's Word and both tremble and worship. In many ways this all comes down to Covenant Renewal Worship and the Federal Husband and Father. I have spoken and written at length in the last year on Worship so I will leave that aside for the time being. However, something must be said about Biblical Patriarchy in all this. If we worship the god of 'politics' it is because Dad has not nurtured us in the worship of the God of Abraham. If our daughters are on the front line, it is because our fathers have failed... well in raising boys to fight dragons and girls to raise future men. If sodomy is alive it is because fathers have abandoned nurturing biblical masculinity and femininity in our covenant breaking homes. Where the hell is dad? Well, maybe he is off with the pornography or in front of the computer or wasting his brain in front of the TV or out with the fellas or still working or whatever he is doing to keep him from his covenantal responsibilities. O, the covenant is still there. Only it lies broken on the floor in a 'masculine' wife and gay kids. Where do we begin to find any hope? Well, men of God must repent. Husbands must repent. Fathers must repent. And we must return to a biblical patriarchy. Return to biblical manhood, womanhood and family. For us that means pulling down the old Doug and Nancy Wilson stuff off the shelf and being sufficiently humbled. This is what I have done...The Federal Husband, Future Men, Her Hand in Marriage, Fidelity and Standing on the Promises. Wow! This is where it is at. God bless! Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 5/17/04 A Little More Beloved, As a bibliography to my last email, here are two books that should be read by parents in the home. These books will go along way in helping explain the mess we are in and because you have been taught you will see the way out. The books are: The Feminization of American Christianity by Ann Douglas and The Church Impotent by Leon J. Podles. Both of these are great reads. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 5/11/04 Beloved, I have just finished reading 'Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship' by Colin Duriez. This is a book that I did not want to finish reading. I wish the book could have gone on and on. However, alas, both men had to go and die on me. I read this book with glory in my soul and tears in my eyes. Their lives and friendship were not glamorous by any means. They were earthy and full of the pains, difficulties, joys and delights that all our lives are filled with. These men however were able to approach them in a manly and poetic way that was both very attractive and distant from me. Hoping I am (a little yoda here) to grow a little closer to it as I mature We are so weak and fickle in friendship. We are so shallow and ugly at friendship. Read the chapter in The Four Loves on friendship first and let us ask God for help. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 5/11/04 Beloved, Having recently re-read Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves To Death, I have made some changes in my home that have opened up much more time for reading and re-reading. Those changes are primarily due to our evening time in which (despite 24 and Alias) we have shut off the 'plug in drug'. This has opened up hours and hours for reading. I cannot tell you the refreshing wind that is blowing through our home as a result of this. In addition it has opened up the opportunity for me to do some re-reading of good books that I have already read. I am re-reading: Eternity In Our Hearts by R.C. Sproul Jr. (Wow); Fidelity by Douglas Wilson (Ouch); and Orthodoxy by Chesterton (Glory). All of this because we have gained an enormous amount of time by shutting off the tube, computer and DVD player and returning to better days (Which is why we need to read Postman once a year). The value in re-reading good books should be obvious: 1) We forget many wonderful things; 2) We now remember many wonderful things; 3) We learn new things that we did not get the first time; 4) We can see both our maturity and our backsliding. All good things. However, if you are a parent and your children are kind of addicted to the 'plug in drug' at this point, make sure you go about any changes poetically and organically and NOT harshly. Make it beautiful, for it really is! Serving Christ and you, Pastor David Cranmer Library 5/10/04 Beloved, The Lord, by allowing me to be in some different 'church contexts' recently has reminded me of our very distinctive church culture. Each local church has it's own Spirit ordained personality, emerging culture and community life. This is displayed, enacted and shaped by the way each church 'talks'. The language spoken in each church reveals that church's culture, continues to shape that culture and is central in living that culture. Language has creative power. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. This is why it ever remains important for us to stick our heads into the world of the Bible and speak that language. We must learn, live and speak those words. They are God's Words by the way. The more we do this of course the more odd we will look yet the more faithful we will be. The reason for the jet tour from Genesis to Revelation yesterday in the sermon should prove that point. Unless we speak of, and enact the Kingdom the way Jesus did then we are just blowing hot air. However, this is not what we want. What we of course want is an emerging and ever maturing biblical culture at Grace. Culture is inescapable. We will have one. We do have one. And it is largely connected to our words. Maybe it is time to read the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah or the book of Revelation. The Gospels read will help in this as well. Keep reading C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. Above all pray. Take God's Word in your mouth and pray it back to Him. He loves to hear it and you need to speak it. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 5/10/04 Beloved, It is very easy to grow weary in doing good. It is very easy to stick our head in a can and only see our little world. That world is important and can also become an idol factory. It is important because it is our life and we must live it. It can become an idol factory when this is 'all' we see and live. Life in community (Trinity) requires us to 'go out' of our can and into the world of others. That world is often a very uncomfortable place for us because it is not like our cozy own. However, the world of others can challenge the idolatry of our own and lead us to repentance of blind spots. These are blind spots that we do not see, we live out of them and are comfortable with them. However the lives of others can bring these to light in a way that now exposed we can see and repent of them. Of course this takes a great degree of humility and meekness of which we are not often good at. If you are the 'talking' type, how about involving yourself in the life of others to 'listen'? If you are the 'listening' type, how about involving yourself in the life of others and do some 'talking'? All of this is ultimately for greater conformity to Christ. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 4/30/04 Beloved, Remember that a maturing understanding and mimicking of God's Triune Life relishes in our unity but also our diversity. This is especially important in matters of applying the Scriptures. Some wrongly desire a uniform application of Scripture THEIR way. This is bullheaded and makes one out to think that they are smarter than the Holy Spirit. We all have baggage, immaturity, sin and sanctification that is on God's timetable. It is God Himself who has us do theology in community because we all have very big blind spots. Some arrogance is uglier than others. Making your way or your understanding or your application the only and right way is one of the ugliest of all. It is lying about God's Triune nature to expect this. Let us all think on these things. Occasionally bullheaded, Pastor David Cranmer Library 4/30/04 Beloved, I am assuming that you are all familiar enough with C. S. Lewis to fend for yourself in reading him. I am not so sure that you are in the know with Howard and Chesterton. Amazon is probably the place to get most of this stuff. Here is a list of books for each man that are available new and used (most of Howard's stuff that I recommend will be used) from Amazon. These are also the books that I read and re-read most from these men. Thomas Howard: Hallowed Be This House/Splendor In The Ordinary (Same book, different title. Great book) Evangelical is Not Enough Chance or the Dance? Christ the Tiger C.S. Lewis: A Man of Letters Christianity: The True Humanism G. K. Chesterton Orthodoxy (must read) Heretics (not about me) The Everlasting Man (book that converted C. S. Lewis to the Christian Faith) Brave New Family What's Wrong With The World The Spirit of Christmas These books will be a good start. Howard is much easier to read than Chesterton. However, Chesterton is worth the work. I hope this helps. As a side note. There is no way to understand me and my ministry to you apart from these men. Their influence on me is enormous. Much of my nuttiness is due directly to their influence. Much of my pastoral emphases in preaching and teaching have their hands all over it. Though with all of this I of course remain firmly and forever a black coffee Protestant. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David Cranmer Library 4/30/04 Beloved, Now that it is Spring I make my return to the books of Thomas Howard, C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton. As I annually stick my head back into the world of these great men I am always simultaneously refreshed and discouraged. Refreshed because their world is the world I love and love to live. Discouraged... well... because I do not live it as maturely as I would like and I seem to forget so much of it throughout the year. However, my eschatology demands that I view the whole thing organically and accept God's sovereign work of sanctification in my family and my own life. Why these men you might ask? Well, with C. S. Lewis it is fairly obvious. With him I travel to Narnia and outer space. With Lewis I am saturated in luscious story and life in a narrative manner that is childlike and yet old at the same time. With Lewis my longing for Christ is intensified and yet partially satisfied. Reading Lewis I find myself wanting to love God and others more right out of my fingers and toes. Thomas Howard is my earthy friend of ritual, rhythm and biblical beauty. With Thomas Howard I am taught the splendor of the ordinary. My life in this world is full of sacramental meaning at every point. Thomas Howard continues to drive my gnosticism out and illumines for me what true humanism really is. Not secular humanism, but biblical humanism. Living life with the body (my physical body), enjoying God's creation and Sabbath rhythm and seeing the glory of God in the small things. With Thomas Howard I want to LIVE for Christ in the whole of my life. Chesterton is often my 'laughing and thinking buddy'. One quote from Chesterton and I can be chewing for weeks, thinking for weeks, and all for the better. One quote from Chesterton and I am laughing... well... with him because no one is around. That laughter that comes from the low bottom of my heart is so good. And with Chesterton it is not the innuendo crud of a sitcom that makes me laugh, it is the simple observations that he makes of life's follies and foibles that make me laugh. So with Lewis I long for the New Heavens and the New Earth. With Thomas Howard I am glad that I am still here. With Chesterton I enjoy both being here and longing for there. So... buy and read these men. They are friends indeed. Enjoy them, I do. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David Cranmer Library 3/10/04 Reminder Beloved, Certain portions of God's Word are shocking. These are some of my favorite parts. These sections explode the status quo. They require a poetic and often times odd way of doing life. They are not dull, they are exciting. They are not easy, they are delightfully hard. They are not safe, but they are good. They require risk and thought. They require Triune life. One of these is an often overlooked yet day-shaking truth. Here is the way it is in the NKJV: "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, THAT IT MAY IMPART GRACE TO THE HEARERS." (Ephesians 4:29) This cannot be, what about sovereign grace? We cannot give or impart grace to one another. It doesn't fit our system. Damn the system! Your words can be "grace imparters" to one another. You can, by taking the time, taking the risk, taking the effor,t minister grace to another by simply that thing that is full of tongue and teeth. Husbands, how about these for your wife? How about mixing some "grace giving" words in. Wives, children, give grace to each other. Amazing isn't it. Grace through our mouths to another. Wow! Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 3/9/04 Mouthy Kids Beloved, One of my favorite fiction writers is Flannery O'Connor. I have been reading her short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." Though I am only about twelve pages into the story I already can't stand these kids. These children are mouthy like you can't believe just like their grandmother in the story. Their father so far is a passive and distant man. This probably in part explains the mouthiness of the kids. There is absolutely no discipline whatsoever thus far. Hence, mouthy kids. I am reminded in reading this story just how annoying children can be when there is no restraint on their mouths whatsoever. The Proverbs are full of the importance of this. We do well not to let this slide in our children. It is the easiest thing to let slide because it happens so much. Yet our children's lives are so helped by nurturing godly restraint of the lips. Solomon says that where there are many words there is much sin. Just some food for thought. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 3/4/04 2 Peter Beloved, One of the most difficult things for a preacher (besides his many sins) is deciding what not to say when he preaches. When you consider that any given sermon can have between 12-30 hours of study behind it, you can imagine how difficult it is to pack it all into a 45-55 minute time frame. Another of what must be considered is the audience you are preaching to. This is all the more difficult if their ages run from Elizabeth to Erma. So each week it is truly an agony (though a glorious one that I cherish) to construct the sermon for God's people at Grace. This is especially true for this coming first sermon on 2Peter. So, I ask for your patience and kindness. (enough) 2Peter is a book in the Bible whose history is a difficult one. Certain early Church Fathers left it out of their canon of Scripture because Peter might not have written it they thought. The majority of Church Fathers had it in their canon of Scripture because they believed that Peter did write it. It is in our canon, so, enough said. However, in our day the trend is reversed. Most present day scholars deny that Peter wrote the letter yet they are fine with it in the canon. Only few present day scholars believe that Peter wrote it and of course they think it should be in the canon. 2Peter is the most hotly debated book of the Bible historically on this issue. So, what am I as your Pastor to do with all this? I could just dismiss all of it and jump in at Chapter 1 Verse 1 as if the issue does not exist. I think this would be a mistake. I could take the 50-55 hours I have spent studying the introduction to this book and start a lengthy series on the "Authorship" of the book. I think this would be a huge mistake (though I seem to be good at these occasionally). Or I can guard the trust, protect the flock and give one good (hopefully good) sermon on why Peter is the author of this book. I believe the message of the book stands or falls with whether or not Peter is the author. So, I believe it has to be at least addressed. I believe you all need to be equipped to know and believe the Bible. My ultimate motivation for this one sermon is your confidence in the unshakable authority, and truthfulness of God's Word. I will do my best to communicate as clearly as possible. Thank you all for your patience with a preacher who is not all he should be. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 3/3/04 Huh Beloved, Josef Pieper in his book "In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity" speaks of the move in our culture from work to entertainment to work to entertainment as evidence of the reign of "nihilism." Nihilism is the worldview of the modern culture that "nothing (nihilism) matters." Pieper argues in part that our continual moving between work and entertainment leaves no room for festivity. Festivity is squeezed out because it is meaningful in and of itself and yet requires something of us. In a nihilistic culture of course nothing is meaningful in and of itself. So we move back and forth from servile work to "amusing ourselves to death." In the Christian approach to life, work is not servile but a vocation, a calling. Festivity is God's blessing of celebration that is meaningful in itself. Certainly we bear more resemblance to the nihilistic culture here than to the life of God. According to Pieper, when there is no room for festivity what we are left with is destruction. How's that for the evening news or local newspaper. Certainly God's people in the Old Creation lived a life of YAHWEH-ordained festivity. Nothing changes when we come into the New Creation. The festivity is still there in force. The differences are simply related to where we are at in the story. Read the book of Acts, I Corinthians, II Peter and Revelation. Read the gospels and see how Jesus defines the kingdom. Oh how far the Church has fallen. I have not progressed enough through Pieper's book to offer his remedy for the problem. However, when I get there I will. In the mean-time, let us think on these things. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David The Red Reading Chair 3/2/04 Pastoral Note Beloved, Was reminded today of the importance of friendship. C.S. Lewis speaks of lovers as face to face and friends as those who face out together with a common vision. I was reminded today that sometimes friendship is also face to face, speaking the hard truth in love with some tears. Friendship should never be taken for granted. The book of Proverbs lists covenant friendship as one of God's great blessings' to His people. Just look up friend, friends, friendship and so on in a concordance (specifically in Proverbs) and see the blessings. (Of course there are terribly bad friendships that are and bring curses.) Covenant friendship is one of God's purposes in forming the Church. Triune life is a life in community, a life in fellowship, a life of sharing one another's lives. Someone took the time to be that friend to me today. I am unworthy yet ever grateful. Praise the Lord. Serving Christ and you, Pastor David Cranmer Library |
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