Seventeen82

“The Lord is my Shepherd;   I shall not want He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;   your rod and your staff,   they comfort me. You prepare a table before me   in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life,   and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” “Do you believe it, Al?”, Martha said.   The sweet couple, a pair of musicians, had enjoyed over 40 years of marriage.   Her a kindergarten teacher, him a retired high school band and orchestra director, together, had helped shape the lives of countless children.   Now, however, their world was reduced to a 300 square foot hospital room where Al was being conditioned for a bone marrow transplant.   S

  I spent m any Saturdays growing up in Texas helping a friend on their family ranch.  Among my memories  is  the use of the prod and the crook. T he electric prod sen ds  a small shock which stimulate s   bovine  movement.   A gentle twist  of the crook around the neck of  a  sheep ensure s  retrieval success. Each instrument has its place. Each  tool i s suited for a particular use.  To move a stubborn or scare d  cow, or retrieve a  strayed sheep, the prod and the crook have their place. Other tactics are less effective.    Years ago, I turned in my chaps and  the  care for cattle and sheep for the well-being of God’s dear flock.   As m any tools have been crafted in animal husbandry , God has also forged tools that his flock may be forfeited in the faith. The glory of the gospel is that sinners  are saved by Christ  alone ; by God’s rich grace through  the instrument of  faith alone  -  all  apart from  human  works .  As new creation united to Jesus, we long to grow  in a true and

  Battlefield             I am convinced that music is one of the greatest gifts God has given to us. In music we find joy, happiness, hope, and excitement. Music makes us feel things that mere words often cannot. Music, in all its various forms, is important for the soul. This is one of the reasons, I believe, that God has called us to worship through music.             A number of years ago now, a Christian hip-hop artist called KB released the song “Open Letter.” In this song, he describes these letters that he has received from various people coming to his concerts. They wrote to him about how encouraging his concerts has been. But, more than that, each letter sought something more of him. In the first letter, a girl named Ashley writes to him, telling him about her struggle with sin, singleness, and homosexual longing. As she finishes her letter, she pleads with him to pray for her. Verse two records a similar letter, ending in much the same way: “This temptation’s a beast,

  ​ Hello again everyone, and welcome back to Seventeen82. It’s hard to believe but September is more than halfway over and before we know it October will be here in full force. It’s a different kind of Fall season this year for many reasons, one of which is the meeting of The General Synod. For those of you who are familiar with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church  (ARP ), you’ll know that we typically hold our denomination wide conference called “General Synod” in the month of June. However, due to the recent and current unpleasantness, our meeting was rescheduled for August and then again for the end of October. In addition, we are no longer meeting at  Bonclarken , but rather, will be meeting at Columbia First ARP Church. ​ Given the current state of affairs as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic, one might be tempted to forego General Synod this year. In addition, we’re meeting in Columbia, SC and not  Bonclarken ! This, too, might tempt folks to just stay home and not att

Where Does Pain Come From and What is It About?        Definitions are important. What is pain? According to the National Library of Medicine it is, “a signal in your nervous system that something may be wrong. It is an unpleasant feeling, such as a prick, tingle, sting, burn, or ache. Pain may be sharp or dull.” Emotional/mental pain can be just as debilitating and serious an issue. The pain-reducing industry is a multi-billion dollar one for a reason. Americans on average spent $10,224 per person on healthcare in 2019 and over $187.8 billion on mental health services in 2013. These are staggering numbers. One of things we will think through in this short essay is why is the world so interested in finding solutions in things that do not provide answers?      When the biblical case is made this truth is really not all that surprising. Looking too deeply into it would mean the world would have to deal with the truth that not only does God exist, but that they have a responsibility towar

One of the common themes I keep hearing in, both from within the church and without, is- “I’m tired of all of this.” It’s funny that they don’t have to explain what “this” is. We all seem to know. People are tired of wearing masks, social distancing, limiting attendance, worrying about getting sick (or loved ones), working from home, zoom meetings, and isolation. Add to this all of the social, political, and economic strife flooding the news, social media, and conversations. The daily wrestling with intense emotions, day after day, is wearing people out. Tensions are higher, and conflict is greater in our nation, communities, and homes.  University Psychology departments are identifying this and calling it “Pandemic Fatigue.” I’m sure many in the Christian church, perhaps even in leadership roles, are experiencing this. Some may be suffering and trying to hide it, out of concern that they might appear weak in their faith or somehow ‘less’ a Christian than they should be.  First of all,

In a Bible Study last fall, our congregation had a lively discussion as we studied Westminster Shorter Catechism Question #20, which asks, “Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?” The answer is: “God having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.” Our teacher, Buzzy Elder, did a good job unpacking the answer in three parts – God’s motivation for his salvation, the subjects of his salvation, and his method of salvation. We were encouraged to hear that God chooses to save his people (us) from their (our) sin and its effects out of his own pleasure and that he accomplished this salvation through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. As Buzzy prepared to move on to Question #21, someone asked the question, “Well, who is actually saved?” I thought,

The name "Ebenezer" will always have a special significance to me. "Ebenezer" was the name of the church where I was ordained to the ministry and the first church I ever served as a minister (in the wonderful community of Cotton Plant, Mississippi). It is impossible not to sing "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and not be reminded of that name ("Here I raise my Ebenezer..."). But the name Ebenezer, of course, should draw our attention back to 1 Samuel 7:12: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.' " I preached on 1 Samuel 7:2-14 a few weeks ago. It was not the first time I have preached on that passage (I preached on that text my first Lord's Day at Ebenezer, and I also preached on that text while at my second pastorate, when I was going through 1 Samuel). This time, however, my concern was on the topic of revival. Walter Kaiser, in his

I’ve developed a habit of coming to my church every Saturday evening to finish up my preparations for all that I am responsible for on the coming Lord’s Day. What I usually do is preach through my sermon - I have found that there are times that what I have written down doesn’t sound as good spoken out loud, so I make those necessary changes. After that, I walk around the sanctuary, and I pray for all that the Lord’s Day will include - which may include a session meeting, or a diaconate meeting … pre-Covid 19, it was Sunday School … and then for worship. I specifically pray for myself and the message, and then I walk through the sanctuary, and I try and pray for all the families of our church. Like many older churches, our folks tend to sit in the same pews … so I walk around the sanctuary, and I try and pray for these families by name.   What I find that I am usually praying for with them, and for myself, is Simple Presbyterianism - which is knowing and loving the Scriptures, and know