The Gospel-Centered Church

Here is a pretty good post from Tullian Tchividjian on how a gospel-centered church functions.

The gospel is the story of God in Christ reaching down to a sinful world and our tri-fold response to the gospel (or, the gospel-centered life) is a life lived reaching up, reaching in, and reaching out. God intends the reality and power of the gospel to mold and shape us at every point and in every way–defining the way we think, feel, and live as a local church.

Churches often obscure the glory of the gospel by reducing it to something less than it is. Some understand the gospel only as doctrinal content to be believed. Others diminish it to a personal, subjective experience of God’s presence. Still others see it as a social cause to be championed. The gospel is none of these, and yet it is all of these. A truly gospel-centered church understands and embraces the fullness of the gospel as content, community, and cause.”

GOSPEL CONTENT The Gospel is a message that is to be preached or proclaimed (Mark 1:14; Acts 14:21; Rom 1:15; 1 Peter 1:12). It is the story of God’s redemption of his fallen creation. It is the good news that God has acted in history to conquer evil and reconcile sinners to himself through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor 15:1-12). A gospel-centered church is one where the gospel is proclaimed clearly, consistently, and compellingly (1 Cor 9:16-23).

GOSPEL COMMUNITY The gospel is not just a message to be believed, but a power to be experienced (Rom 1:16). The gospel shapes a new community as those who were formerly God’s enemies are reconciled to Him (Rom 5:10) and adopted into his family (Gal 4:4-7). The church is not a place, but a people – a community that is continually being reformed and renewed by the transforming power of the gospel (Col. 1:6).

GOSPEL CAUSE The gospel is a call to action – a declaration that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). God is not just interested in the salvation of humans, but in the restoration of all of creation to its original “good” (Gen 1:31; Rom 8:19-22). A gospel-centered church will be active in the work of mercy, justice, and cultural renewal, praying and working against the effects of sin so that God’s will might be done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).

(HT: Tullian Tchividjian)

Four Great Quotes On Idolatry

“It is the normal state of the human heart to try to build its identity around something besides God.” Soren Kierkegaard

“Spiritual pride is the illusion that you are competent to run your own life, achieve your own sense of self worth, and find a purpose big enough to give you meaning in life without God.”
Tim Keller

“Idolatry is worshipping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that is meant to be worshipped.” St. Augustine

“An idol is anything we trust in for deliverance in the place of Jesus and his grace.” Scotty Smith

"By the way, idolatry is not just a problem for non-Christians; it’s a problem for Christians too (read 1 John 5:21). We Christians are also guilty of trusting in something–or someone–smaller than God to give our lives meaning and significance. We look to our achievements, our reputation, our relationships, our strengths, our place in society, our stuff, our smarts, our good looks, and on and on it goes.

So, let’s not make the mistake of thinking the above quotes don’t apply to Christians. They do. What are your idols? What are you trusting in other than Jesus to gain acceptance and approval–to give your life meaning and to make life worth living?"

(HT: Tullian Tchividjian)

Ahhh, The Legacy Of Socialism

"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."

~ Thomas Sowell

(HT: Tim Challies...tweet)

Psalm 118.24

"This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

This is a very common Psalm. And I really enjoyed Barnes' Notes this morning on this Psalm. I have copied them below and I hope it encourages your soul today!

Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord hath made - As if it were a new day, made for this very occasion; a day which the writer of the psalm did not expect to see, and which seemed therefore to have been created out of the ordinary course, and added to the other days.

He was in danger of death; his days were likely to be cut off and ended, so that he should see no more. But God had spared him, and added this joyous day to his life; and it was meet that for this he should be praised. It was so full of joy, so unexpected, so bright, so cheerful, that it appeared to be a new day coming fresh from the hand of the Almighty, unlike the other days of the year.

So the Sabbath - the day that commemorates the resurrection of the Redeemer - is God’s day. He claims it. He seems to have made it anew for man. Amidst the other days of the week - in a world where the ordinary days are filled up with so much of earth, so much toil, trouble, care, vexation, vanity, wickedness - it seems like one of the days that God made when he first made the world; before sin and sorrow entered; when all was calm, serene, happy.

The Sabbath is so calm, so bright, so cheerful, so benign in its influence; it is so full of pleasant and holy associations and reminiscences, that it seems to be a day fresh from the hand of God, unlike the other days of the week, and made especially, as if by a new act of creation, for the good of mankind. So when a man is raised up from sickness - from the borders of the grave - it seems to be a new life given to him. Each day, week, month, year that he may live, is so much added to his life, as if it were created anew for this very purpose. He should, therefore, regard it not as his own, but as so much given to him by the special mercy and providence of God - as if added on to his life.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it. The psalmist, and all who united with him in his thanksgivings. So the Christian Sabbath. It is a day of joy - all joy, and no sorrow. It is a day to be happy in; a day of rest; a day, when the cares and toils of life are suspended; a day, when we are no longer harassed with those things which vex us in the worldliness of the week; a day, when we think of God, of redemption, of hope, of heaven. The Sabbath should be a day of joy, and not of gloom; it would be the happiest of all days to weary and jaded people everywhere, if they observed it aright. In a world of toil and sorrow, it is among the richest of God’s blessings to people; it strengthens, refreshes, and cheers the heart of burdened and sorrowful man here; it lifts the soul to joyous contemplation of that eternal Sabbath where wearisome toll and sorrow shall be no more.

Two Kingdom Theology and Neo-Kuyperians

When you have 7 minutes to read a blog post and you want to stretch your thinking about the Kingdom of God, the church and her ministry for today, then check out Kevin DeYoung's post by clicking here.

It is well worth the time to read and think through the implications of not only what you believe, but more importantly how you live out what you believe concerning the Kingdom of God.

Enjoy and discuss it!

Every Church Is Dying

This is a pretty interesting take on churches today from Tullian Tchividjian's blog.

"My friend Darryl Dash notes that every church is a dying church in one of three ways:

Some churches are literally dying. They are slowly losing people and will likely shut down.

Some churches are glitzy and successful. They look vibrant and alive, but they’re really only alive to themselves and their institution. They look alive, but they’re dying and they don’t know it.

Then there’s the church that could be big or small, glitzy or drab, that dies to itself daily – that has taken up the cross and is more concerned with following Christ, no matter what it costs, than its survival.

All churches are dying. Only the third type of church, however, will experience a resurrection. What kind of church are we?"

What's Jesus' Strength To Do God's Will?

Jesus' strength to do God's will is....to do God's will. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me” (Jo 4:34).

~ John Piper (twitter)

It's 4 AM. Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

Well it's about 4.15 am. I just finished my sermon for this Sunday and I'm exhausted. The reason for the late night is, my three oldest children are coming home tomorrow or today actually! Seth, Micah and Abby should be on their way to Memphis right now from spending time with my folks in Louisiana. My dad likes to leave early!

I finished up my sermon, so that I could spend the rest of the day with them. I usually polish up my sermon on Saturdays, but I really wanted to be unhindered so I can hang out with my kids for the first time in over a month.

God I pray that you keep them safe today as they travel. Help them to enjoy You and Your creation as they travel the countryside. May they think much about Your handy work. Keep those around them safe as well. Amen!

How George Whitefield Studied The Bible

"There he is at five in the morning . . . . on his knees with his English Bible, his Greek New Testament and Henry's Commentary spread out before him. He reads a portion in the English, gains a fuller insight into it as he studies words and tenses in the Greek and then considers Matthew Henry's explanation of it all.

Finally, there comes the unique practice that he has developed: that of 'praying over every line and word' of both the English and the Greek till the passage, in its essential message, has veritably become part of his own soul."

Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, I:82-83.

(HT: Ray Ortlund)

I'm Now A Bi-Vocational Pastor!

Well about 4 weeks ago I became a bi-vocational pastor. God provided a sweet job to help us meet some financial needs. A church just outside of Memphis was needing someone to work as their maintenance guy and so I pursued it and it was a good fit.

It has been a blessing for our family, but has taken me away from blogging, which I really enjoy doing.

Anyway, we are thankful to God for providing for our needs. Please pray that I will be able to juggle this new schedule.

Also, I start back at school in a couple of weeks. My classes will be every Monday evening. I am attending Union University and pursuing a degree in Organizational Leadership. Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll have a pretty good routine down, so I would appreciate you praying for me!

Would You Pray This Prayer?

(HT: Josh Harris)

Do You Often Remember The Gospel's Effectual Work In Your Life?

Colossians 2.13-14

"And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

Don't Be Ashamed....Go Ahead And Tell Others!

“When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize; there is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed.”

~ Charles H. Spurgeon, "Spurgeon Quotes on the Gospel"

(HT: Of First Importance)

Can You Get De-Baptized?

I picked up this post from Denny Burk. Thought you all might like to read about a new 'trend'.

It would seem that atheists would be among the most dispassionate people on earth vis a vis religion. But that is not the case. In too many instances, they are not content to disbelieve. Their unbelief (far from giving them objectivity) compels them to berate those who do not hold their view. They are like the fool of Proverbs 19:3, “The foolishness of man ruins his way, And his heart rages against the LORD.”

Here’s an article from USA Today explaining the new trend among atheists, ‘de-baptism.’

‘Up until last summer, Jennifer Gray of Columbus, Ohio, considered herself “a weak Christian” whose baptism at age 11 in a Kentucky church came to mean less and less to her as she gradually lost faith in God.

‘Then the 32-year-old medical transcriptionist took a decisive step, one that previously hadn’t been available. She got “de-baptized.

In a type of mock ceremony that’s now been performed in at least four states, a robed “priest” used a hairdryer marked “reason” in an apparent bid to blow away the waters of baptism once and for all. Several dozen participants then fed on a “de-sacrament” (crackers with peanut butter) and received certificates assuring they had “freely renounced a previous mistake, and accepted Reason over Superstition.”

Whatever you do....don't shake your head and think "this girl is absolutely pitiful"! This ought to break your heart for those who are so blind and calloused to the Truth of Christ. This girl apparently grew up in the church. If it were not for God's sustaining grace, we too would reject everything that we have been taught about the gloriousness of God in Christ. Pray for her! Pray that God will open the eyes of her heart that she may see Christ for who He is. Pray that she would seek God while He still may be found!

Be Careful To Reserve The Word Heresy!

I have longed believe that the word heresy should only be used when orthodoxy has been broken when specifically concerning the doctrine of the person and work of Christ and the Trinity. This morning Al Mohler takes up the issue when he discusses the current state of the Episcopal Church.

Dr. Katherine Jefferts Schori is the presiding Bishop and she addresses their national convention by declaring that all who profess that Jesus Christ can save them and put them in a right relationship with God are caught up into the web of a Western heresy. Of course, she is flip flopping the issue. She claims that those who actually embrace an individualistic approach to the saving work of Christ are heretics. The irony!

But I wanted to highlight Mohler's paragraph that deals with what heresy should specifically concern.....it is below.

"In the history of Christian theology, the word heresy has been most properly applied to what the church has recognized as false and unbiblical teachings concerning the doctrines most closely related to Christ and the Trinity. The word heresy should properly be reserved for teachings that directly reject what the Bible reveals and the Church has confessed concerning the person and work of Christ and the reality and integrity of the Trinity. There are any number of false teachings and erroneous doctrines, but the term heresy should be restricted to those most central to the Gospel itself."

You can read the article in its entirety by clicking here.

How Does The Wrath Of Man Praise God?

Psalm 76.10 "For the wrath of man shall praise Thee; With a remnant of wrath Thou shalt gird Thyself."

Please read Albert Barnes' commentary below on this verse.

"The "wrath" of the invading host had given occasion for this manifestation of the divine perfections; or, in other words, his character would not have been displayed in this manner if it had not been for these wicked purposes of people. It is not that there was anything in the wrath itself, or in their plans or intentions, that was in itself "adapted" to honor God; but that it was overruled by him, so that he took "occasion" from it to display his own character.

The wicked conduct of a child is an "occasion" for the display of the just character and the wise administration of a parent; the act of a pirate, a rebel, a murderer, furnishes an "occasion" for the display of the just principles of law, and the stability and power of a government. In like manner, the sins of the wicked are made an occasion for the display of the divine perfections in maintaining law; in the administering of justice; in preserving order.

But there is another sense, also, in which the wrath of man is made the occasion for glorifying God. It is, that since there is such wrath, or since there are such wicked purposes, God makes use of that wrath, or of those wicked purposes, as he does of the powers of nature - of pestilence, disease, and storms, as instruments to accomplish his own designs, or to bring about great results. Thus he made use of the treasonable purpose of Judas, and the mad passions and the angry feelings of the Jews, in bringing about the work of redemption by the death of his Son...."

Even in the wrath of man, the glory of God is brilliantly seen in His divine character to uphold law, justice and order in the world. The wrath of man also displays the divine perfections for providing One who has taken upon Himself the punishment for our breaking His law, thus we clearly see His justice for our sin and to establish a spiritual order that is tethered to His gospel.

"And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach" ~ Colossians 1.21-22

Charles Spurgeon On The Bridge Of Grace

“The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. I can hear their trampings now as they traverse the great arches of the bridge of salvation. They come by the thousands, by their myriads, e’er since that day when Christ first entered His glory.

They come and yet never a stone has sprung in that mighty bridge. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them, trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.”

~ Charles Spurgeon

(HT: Of First Importance)

Are You Holy? It May Not Be What You're Thinking!

“The holiest Christians are not those most concerned about holiness as such, but whose minds and hearts and goals and purposes and love and hope are most fully focused on our Lord Jesus Christ.”

~ J.I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit

(HT: Of First Importance)

Are You Paying Attention To The Way The Enemy Wants To Destroy Your Faith In Christ?

Today I preached on Colossians 2.8-10.

Here in these verses the Apostle Paul is engaging himself in spiritual battle over the souls of those who were being lured away from their faith in the Deity of Christ and the sufficiency of Christ to save.

The choice weapon of the enemy was: philosophy!

For the Colossian Christians it was a particular hybrid of philosophies of the day. But nevertheless, it was the very weapon that the enemy used to try and destroy the faith of Christians. Belief in anything that seeks to diminish the Deity of Christ and the sufficiency of Christ to save is empty deception and a false system of belief.

We are bombarded by this kind of philosophy all day long in our own culture. The enemies sole desire is to rob, kill and destroy our faith and Christianity. Therefore we must stay tethered to the true gospel. We must stay tethered to the truth about Jesus Christ, that He is the fullness of God manifest in the flesh and because of His deity, He has the power to save and sustain anyone for Himself.

My aim: That we would take seriously Paul's exhortation to flee any kind of man-centered teaching that goes against the truth about Jesus Christ and the sufficiency of the gospel to save and to satisfy.

How Do You Protect Yourself From Exchanging Grace For Merit?

Last Sunday Pastor Brent Wells, from our mother church Lakewood Baptist, preached in my absence. He preached on Hebrews 12.8-25.

In this passage there is the contrast between Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion. Both have God. Both have the people of God. And both have God's holiness all over it. But one you can physically touch while the other is physically untouchable. One you can physically pursue, while the other pursues you. One has never been intended to save, the other is intended to save. One does not have a mediator, while the other has a Mediator!

The non-believing Hebrews tried to use Mt. Sinai and the law to approach God. They simply would not put the rights, rituals, and ceremonies down. They wouldn't put the old down for the New. Thus they never understood the full purpose of the law and did not embrace God's grace over merit.

Application for the church today.....How do you protect yourself from exchanging grace for merit?

First let me say, we're not talking about falling from grace, but getting tangled and encumbered with striving to earn God's love even within the Christian life.

How can we have our quiet times without doing it for merit sake?
How can we attend church without doing it for merit sake?
How can we witness to the lost without doing it for merit sake?
How can men pastor their families without doing it for merit sake?
How can women follow their husbands and train their children in righteousness without doing it for merit sake?

In the context of Hebrews 12 we should preach the gospel to ourselves. We should constantly put God's Word before us and examine the ways that He has shown Himself to be holy, righteous, perfect and good. We should constantly see ourselves as helpless and hopeless apart from God. We should constantly make ourselves aware of the fact that we are in desperate need of a Mediator between us and God. We should constantly look to the cross to see how God has provided the way for us to be reconciled to Him through the Mediator....Jesus Christ!

This is the kind of Christian approach to protect ourselves from doing things for merit sake. One is totally from the heart that longs to see Christ glorified. While the other is stoic with no affections for God whatsoever and for a season looks good on the outside, but is nothing more than a tomb on the inside.

We simply must be intentional and aggressive with the gospel!