Thursday, December 25, 2008

A Disturbing Christmas?

This past Tuesday CJ Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries wrote an excellent reminder about the true meaning of Christmas. I thought it was worth sharing with you because my sermon last Sunday at Servant's Heart Fellowship was on how Christmas is really about Christ's suffering and our salvation. Check out CJ's post: www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog

Friday, December 19, 2008

What Do You Think About At Christmas?

While preparing for this week's message (1 Peter 1:10-12) I asked myself this question: what do I think about most during Christmas time? The gifts I might get? Or give? Christmas cookies? Visiting relatives? The look on my oldest son's face when he opens his pink fluffy slippers on Christmas morning?

Gifts are cool - I've finally conquered the Grinch within - when they foster appreciation and genuine affection and not feed greed. But the Scriptures give me something much more important to think about during this and every season: the salvation purchased for me by the suffering Savior. This is what Peter writes about in verse 10 when he begins, "Concerning this salvation..."

Join us this Sunday as we gaze upon this great salvation. It is something that amazes the angels and the prophets of old longed to know more about. I hope we will all be freshly affected by the Savior's loving sacrifice and the gift of salvation! Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Suffering And Worship?

Maybe the title confused you. When I say "suffering and worship" I'm not talking about any one's Sunday morning experience of suffering through the worship service! This is not about singing the same chorus 10 times in a row, or gritting your teeth while a musician keeps messing up your favorite hymn, or listening to a boring preacher's monotone voice for an hour. Not that these things ever happen at our church, well... at least not the singing or musical part! (By the way, that kind of "suffering" reveals more about our maturity as believers than we probably want it to... but that's another topic.)

No, when I say "suffering and worship" I mean that these two words actually go hand-in-hand. We can worship God in the midst of our suffering. How is this possible? Join us Sunday as we look to the apostle Peter for the answer!

Hint: read 1 Peter 1:3-9

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Exploring First Peter

The well-known Reformation theologian John Calvin wrote this in his introduction to 1st Peter:

"The design of Peter in this Epistle is to exhort the faithful to a denial of the world and a contempt of it, so that being freed from carnal affections and all earthly hindrances, they might with their whole soul aspire after the celestial kingdom of Christ, that being elevated by hope, supported by patience, and fortified by courage and perseverance, they might overcome all kinds of temptations, and pursue this course and practice throughout life."

Alright, two things immediately occur to me when I read this. First, I can hear both my Elementary grammar teacher and my college English professor saying, "That is a run-on sentence..." Second, I'm reminded of why Calvin is still a resource that so many turn to when studying the Scriptures. His passion for understanding the Bible is still evident after all these years. Go ahead, read his run-on sentence one more time.

Calvin suggests that Peter's "design" is for believers: To deny the world... to be free from carnal affections... to aspire with their whole soul after Christ's kingdom... to overcome all kinds of temptation... and to do this throughout their whole life!

This design of Peter is also a personal desire for myself and my church family. This is why we at Servant's Heart Fellowship will now turn our attention to 1st Peter. Join us as we start chapter 1 this Sunday, and I pray that this portion of God's Word may cause our hearts to blaze with passion for our Savior!