Seventeen82

  God, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, declares this concerning  his transcendence,  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways   and my thoughts than your thoughts ” (Isaiah 55:9). It can be helpful to remind ourselves of this truth when we are faced with  seemingly  unanswerable  questions regarding God’s  sometimes mysterious  activities in our own lives or  in the world. But  is  it  the case that there is nothing we can know about  G o d’s ways  and purposes ? What is it that  God  is at work doing ?  Identifying God’s great purpose in the  world  i s foundational to an understanding of what God’s purpose is for the  church  and for individual believers. Over the last few  years,  I have been greatly encouraged by reflecting on the answer to th is  question, for though there is much we can’t know about God’s e...

     Inspired by RC Sproul, I started reading Moby Dick every year. The book is so rich and full that it has kept me satisfied each time I read it. Moby Dick himself, the white whale, has been used to symbolize many things over the years. As I read it, Ahab’s pursuit of the white whale has made me think of many conversations I’ve read, listened to, and participated in over the years. The conversations are typically over some seemingly controversial issue, and that issue has multiple seemingly correct expressions. For some, they are happy to let those differences remain, as they are “non-essential” differences. Yet for others, the issue is their white whale. They’ll pursue it even if it costs them everything      I once talked to someone who was planting a church. He had a great core group of people excited to see God work in their location. He was a faithful preacher of God’s Word, and he believed that God’s Word was only contained in the King James Version...

  Easter sunrise service is one of my favorite services throughout the year – not because of the day (although that is certainly worth celebrating) – because of the location. The cool morning air, the blue/yellow/red of the sunrise, and the echoing of the voices of the saints as they sing the praises of their God are but a few of the reasons I love it. There is, I think, a biblical concept that can be observed in this service – one that we rarely notice. More specifically, there is a particular beauty to congregational worship in nature.   From the very beginning of time, nature (in the garden) was the place of the worship of God. The garden was in a very real sense a perfect prototype of the temple. This is clear from Adam and Eve’s own worship (Genesis 3) and is further revealed through Israel’s worship. Not only was Solomon’s temple intentionally decorated in a way that reflected the garden, much of Israel’s idolatry was based in and around nature. Most assuredly, Israe...

  While the  Westminster Shorter Catechism   explains that the means of grace are all of God’s ordinances  “especially the word, sacraments and prayer,” there are other channels by which God gives spiritual power to his followers to know and grow in him and carry out the purposes of the church.  One of those other channels is fellowship. Often ,  we can think of fellowship as social gatherings and friendships centered on a common purpose. One can have fellowship with co-workers and neighbors, but the New Testament intends for Christian fellowship to mean something much more than a social exercise. From the beginning of the church in the book of Acts, it is easy to see the fellowship of believers was something only the grace of Jesus could create (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35). J. I. Packer helps to explain how fellowship is a means of grace: It is only where the Holy Spirit has been given, where men are spiritually alive and anxious to grow in grace themselves and...

  First words are significant. “It was the best of  times ,  it was the worst of times” and “Call Me Ishmael” are among renowned opening lines in literature.    The gospel writer,  Mark ,  record s the first words of Jesus ’  ministry as  he came into Galilee  proclaiming the gospel of God :  “ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;   repent and believe in the gospel .” ( Mark 1: 14- 15).    Like Charles Dickens in  A Tale of Two Cities and Herman Melville in  Moby Dick,  the gospel writer captu r es  much about the Redeemer and his mission. He also outlines what is significant  for  the  church today.   As Mark begins with Jesus ’  ministry of the Word,  he spells out that his message is one of good news. Mark has just reference d (1:3)  the  proclamation of the Messiah to  come  which  dispel s   spiritual  darkne...

A survey found that the two main reasons people leave the Church is that they find it (1) boring or (2) irrelevant. Psalm 95:6-7 reveals three important theological truths about corporate worship that help us combat viewing Church as boring and/or irrelevant. The first theological truth we find is that God is present when His people gather corporately to worship Him. Verse 6 says “let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” When we gather for worship, our God is present with His people in a special manner beyond His general presence everywhere (omnipresent). Jesus Himself states in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” This truth of God’s special presence in corporate worship is also revealed in the fact that God speaks to His people as corporately gathered. Verse 7 ends with a partial sentence that says, “Today, if you hear his voice…” God speaks because He is present. A second theological truth revealed ...