Seventeen82

We are living in some wild and crazy times, and we all know it. I haven’t spoken with anyone in the last 6 months who thinks otherwise. It also seems that we are all asking the same question: How are we supposed to live with everything going on?    We have heard a load of answers to this question from all kinds of different voices. (Some are better than others.) As a Christian pastor, I am convinced, however, that the only voice Christians should listen to is that of God, which we find in the Bible.    The Apostle Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us some really helpful instruction in his first letter on how we are to live at all times, but especially during those times of great uncertainty and confusion. I have identified 7 particular things we should be doing right now. Here they are.    1.       Trust the Lord Jesus with Our Lives (1 Peter 1:3-12)  – The first and most important thing any Christi...

I want to begin this post with a confession: I struggle with self-centeredness occasionally. Ok, you got me, I struggle with it a lot. That should come as no surprise to you or anyone else reading this post. You know that I am no different than you. You are also well aware that we both struggle with self-centeredness. Like the Apostle Paul, we fight the fleshly temptation to honor ourselves rather than God (Rom. 7:15-19). This is true for us even after our hearts have been transformed by the gospel of grace in Christ. I don’t know about you, but my self-centeredness is periodically seen in my attitude before, during and after corporate worship. This was true before I became a pastor, and sadly it’s still true. (Shh, don’t tell anybody. Pastors are supposed to be super-spiritual.) There are times when I don’t want to get out of bed, don’t want to get dressed, don’t want be around people, don’t want to sing the selected songs, don’t want to lead the prayers, and certainly d...

  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 ...

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, ...

               For someone who grew up in small, southern churches (mostly Baptist and a few non-denominational churches), the first time I attended a Presbyterian church was a unique and enlightening experience. For the first time in my life, there were people who not only understood and talked about their bibles, but who understood and talked about theology. Over the course of my late high school and early college years, I continued to attend the same church and was often challenged to think through the doctrines of our faith. I was presented with large, theological words like impassibility (God does not have human emotion) and aseity (God is self-existent or independent). Not only were those words used in casual conversation, they were explained and applied to my life.             Looking back now, I can see how such teaching was extremely important to my spiritual development. Not only d...

It’s summertime and that means that many of us are using our grills regularly to cook food for our family and friends. There’s not much better than a hot, juicy cheeseburger grilled to perfection, is there?    In his cookbook,  Boy Meets Grill , celebrity chef Bobby Flay defined grilling as a means of “cooking food quickly over a very hot fire,” which gives the food a “seared, flavorful crust and a juicy interior.” That’s what makes it so good!    In many ways, I think our contemporary society can be defined as a grilling culture, and it’s not just because of the fun, the casual fellowship, and the relaxation that comes from gathering around the grill. It’s because we love things to come at us hot and fast. It suits our appetite.    We want our internet instantly, with its movies on demand and our news in small, manageable, fast-paced portions. We want immediate economic and political solutions to our greatest problems. We want systems changed overnigh...