Banner Conference 2006 -- Session #1 Matt Kingswood

The first session of the conference was an excellent sermon by Matt Kingswood. I met Matt the first time I came to the Banner and have gotten to know him a little, but have never had the privilege to sit under his preaching. I was in for a treat. Matt preached on Ephesians 3:14-21. This passage if found between the opening section of Ephesians which focuses mainly on doctrine, and the next section of Ephesians that focuses mainly on application. In it we find the doctrine that Paul had just expounded moving him to prayer, and in that prayer Paul has this statement, "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us." It is this statement that the message revolved around. First, it was noted that when Paul looks to himself he sees that he is disabled. Usually when we think of someone who is disabled we think of physical things, and that is part of what Paul may have seen. We know he had a thorn in the flesh, but his disability goes further. It is found in his weakness and he realizing that he is not sufficient in himself for the gospel ministry (2 Corinithians 3). We also are disabled when we look at ourselves, and Paul here wants us to redirect our attention away from ourselves to God. In doing this he speaks of God's ability in such a way that it is not specific, but at the same time he states the truth of God abundant ability that is covers everything. The call is first to realize the power of God. God does far more abundantly in the power that is at work in us. Consider this power. It is the power that spoke at creation and brought all things into being. Even more than that, it is the power that is spoken of in Ephesians 1:19-20 were it speaks of this power as, "the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places" The power of God at work in those who believe, is the power of the resurrection, of the empty tomb. In this great power God answers prayer. Notice that means that whatever we ask in prayer, even more, whatever we can even imagine, God can and will do more. This is a rebuke to our prayers. It calls us to look at our prayers and ask if we are praying with this great power of God in mind. Or, do we have small expectations. Our are expectations of God unworthy of his great and abundant power. For, small expectations lead to small blessings. Are not our prayers often too timid? Now we need to be clear here, for some name it and claim it teachers look to this passage as proof of their gospel of prosperity. One web site even sub-titles this verse as as "extreme prosperity." As if it is speaking of God providing our physical needs beyond what we ask or imagine. With this misuse, it would be tempting to avoid a passage like this, but just because it is misused, does not mean we should not properly use it. For this text is a great encouragement to prayer, if it is understood in the context in which it was given. The boundaries for this verse are found in its context, particularly verse 21. First we find that God does far more abundantly than we ask or imagine in the context of being in Christ. There is no reason for those who are not Christians to expect God to hear their prayers at all. This is not a blanket promise to all men. It is a promise to the children of God. Second, we find the context of God doing far more abundantly than we ask or imagine is in the church. Jesus promised to build his church, so we must ask whether what we are asking is something that promotes the health, growth and well being of the church. Third, we find the context of God doing far more abundantly than we ask or imagine is that it is to the glory of God. Is what we are asking something for the glory of God. As James taught, ". You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." We must always remember that the context for God power is his glory. In all this we are reminded that God can do exceedingly more than we ask or imagine. The limits are not what we think. The limits are not even what we imagine. They are what God will do. This means that our prayers must acknowledge the infinite power of God in these three areas. From the abstract we must move to how this is realized in our lives for God's abundant working is according to the power at work in us. It is not only realized out in the abstract, but as he works in us. God seeks to strengthen us in the inner man (3:16). He works at making us something. Think of all the things called for in the application section--that we maintain the unity of the Spirit, that we speak the truth in love, that we make the most of the time, and all the rest. Think how that would change us if we were like that all the time. Can you even imagine that, or does it seem beyond imagining? Now realize that God can do exceedingly more than we ask or imagine. God is able to do it. You do not need to stay where you are. Looking to the actualities of life, if you examine how God works in your life, thankfully doesn't he do more than you ask or imagine already. What we receive is not in keeping with what we pray for, thanks be to God. It is far more. God does more than we ask or imagine already. Often in spite of us God works. Our prayers may be small, but God's grace is big. Yet, there is one more thing we need to acknowledge--sometimes God does things that we would not want to imagine. Matt gave the example of a man whose wife was pregnant. She went to bed with flu like symtoms, and never woke up. Both her and the baby died from a rare blood infection, and at the funeral he said he could not imagine that she was gone. He was left alone to take care of three children. We must remember that even there God's power is active, and it is directed by is perfect wisdom. On the last day we shall count it a great mercy that we didn't have our way (JC Ryle) Even these things we would never want to imagine are for our good. For the God who does for more abundantly than we ask or imagine, is the God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. And as verse 19 reminds us, his love is also far greater than we really know. These are my notes on this talk.

Banner Conference Arrival

After a good nights rest in Carlisle, and a hefty breakfast, we headed up to Cumberland Valley Books to do some shopping. As usual once I get into a bookstore with a good collection of theological and reference books, walking out without purchasing at least a few is almost impossible. The shopping was good, and I lefts with several books for quite good prices. However, while shopping a person from the US Geological Survey hit the mirror on my van with their mirror as they drove by where I was parked. Thankfully they left their contact information, so I won't be one the hook to pay for that repair myself. The glass is cracked in several places and I am not sure if the motor of the power window is undamaged or not. It seemed to move the window, but then stalled in one direction. It is also now much more noisy than it was before. My hope is that we can get everything organized so that I can get it fixed when I get back to Canada. Following our shopping spree, we headed over to Messiah College where we registered and checked in. Some of our group decided to head off to see Gettysburg, but although I would have liked to go again, I needed some time to wind down and rest. But, that was not to be, as one of our party needed to go to lunch because he is diabetic, and my van was the only one available. So off to the restaurant we went for a fairly good meal. By the time I got back, there was only 1 hour left until the first speaker, so I did get a little rest before heading over. It was good to finally be here. To know that soon I would be able to enjoy the fellowship and even better listen to the preaching of God's word.

Arrived in Carlisle

The first portion of the trip to the Banner of Truth conference has been completed. We had 9 people driving down which required two vans. We left Woodstock ON at a little after 8am. We had to pick up one other person in Burlington, then we headed for the border. Usually border crossings are pretty straight forward, but that was not to be the case for us this time. The first van got through with minimal problems, but the second van, the one I was driving had a British citizen on board and on person had just finished his education at an American seminary on a student visa and instead of saying that his studies were completed the seminary recorded them as terminated. The border guard must have been having a bad day because he really got in the face of both of these gentlemen, and while he rightfully pulled up over, the attitude he showed was the sort that gives border guards a bad name. We were told the wait to get the visa would be 2 hours, so the other van went ahead and left us with some directions. Thankfully the wait was not 2 hours, and God got us through in only 45 minutes. Overall it was both concerning, thinking that we might be turned back and not get to the conference, and somewhat exciting to see the border security people at work. By the way, the people inside were very friendly, and did their job with efficiency and professionalism. My compliments to them for doing a demanding job, especially with those who did not speak English, with a professional but friendly manner. Once we were back on our way we made good time, although instead of taking the by-pass to I-90 we ended up taking 190 around Buffalo. That added another five minutes to our trip, and we had some other navigational concerning when we thought we had missed the exit for Batavia while we were talking theology. That is what happens when you get a bunch of pastors in a van together. Again, we were wrong, and we soon arrived at the exit. In Batavia we started to look for a washroom to relieve ourselves, but none of the gas stations had one. The first one we stopped at told us they used to have one but their customers destroyed it. There must be some anti-public toilet gang in Batavia, because none of the gas stations had one. Thankfully, a short way out of Batavia we did find one, and we stopped to answer the call of nature and pick up some snacks. We also checked a map to verify the directions we had been given, and all seemed good. We headed out and made great time, passing the other van which had stopped for lunch in Savona. They caught up, and we continued together all the way to Carlisle where we checked into the Motel 6 for the night at about 6:15pm. Overall a pretty good trip with only a few hitches. We then headed out for supper at Applebees. Picked up some stuff from Wal-mart, and headed back to the Motel for the night. So now we are here, ready to rest and prepare for the start of the conference tomorrow. The trip was one that reminded all of us that we are always under the providential care of God. In his providence he had us stopped at the border for some reason. Yet, in all of this the comfort is that we are in his providential care, and he is working out his good purposes that he may be glorified. It is wonderful to serve a God who oversees this creation in such a way that even the sparrow falling to the ground is in his care, and since that is the case, so are all the events in our lives.

One More

This may be my last blog entry until I am actually at the Banner conference. I am currently at my parents-in-law's place because I will be preaching a classical appointment at their church. I am using their internet connect, but this afternoon we go to my mother's place for the night (she lives much closer to the place where all the pastors who are going to the Banner with me will meet) and she does not have internet access. So I just wanted to say . . .

ONE MORE SLEEP UNTIL LEAVING FOR THE BANNER!

Bearing With Those Who Are Weak

Romans 15:1-7 (ESV) The Example of Christ 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. As I read this it struck me how different the tolerance Scripture calls for is from that of the world. Again and again we are told that we should tolerate all sorts of sinful practice in the church for the sake of unity and peace in the church. In and of itself, this call is not incorrect. There are many places in Scripture that call for us to be one and Christ and the Father are one, to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, however, even though those calling for unity would agree that this unity should not be at the cost of the truth of scriptures, in practice that is often exactly what happens. This passage also calls of a bearing with one another. In verse one we read, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” In other words, those who are strong should be patient with those who are weak, and not seek to merely do their own thing. Now I am sure there are people who would say, “There, you see you who claim that this or that practice that scripture says is wrong but I do, you should bear with me in my weakness and not please yourself.” Yet, it strikes me that to say that would be to miss the point. For in context the issue is not whether a person can do something that is sinful in itself, that is something against the revealed teachings of God's will found in Scripture, but rather on debatable things. Going back to the previous chapter we find the background for the weak and the strong mentioned here. The weak are those who think something is a sin that is not. They have not truly understood their Christian liberty. The specific issue has to do with dietary laws. Although not specifically mentioned it would seem this is speaking of eating meat bought in the market place if it had been offered in the temple of the various pagan gods because of the mention of some only eating vegetables. The other option is this could be speaking of clean or unclean food as defined in the Old Testament. It does not make a big difference either way as Jesus did away with the food prohibitions. The strong are those who realize that in and of itself the meat is neither clean or unclean. The weak on the other hand are those who think it is sinful to eat that meat, and so they eat only vegetables. In other words, the weak are those who think something that is in itself not sinful, is sinful. They do not yet fully grasp their Christian liberty. With that being the case, for those who claim that we should not point out how they are going against the revealed will of God to say that we should bear with them in their weakness, is at best to turn this passage on its head. For if they are correct that they have Christian liberty to do whatever it is they do, then they would by the definition of this passage be the strong, and we who think they are sinning would be the weak who have not fully grasped our Christian liberty. Thus they would be the ones who need to bear with us, and they would be the ones who should not lead us into sin by their actions. That would be the best case, but the worst case is more likely. That is those who are advocating or living in a practice that is blatantly against what the Scriptures teach, are taking a passage that deals with questions of Christian liberty and making that liberty a license for sin. For although it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, that comes with the warning, “do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.” If someone is living according to the flesh, then they are the weak ones, or perhaps they do not really have faith at all. So this passage in calling for the strong to bear with the weak, is not a call to compromise on the Word of God, but a call to be patient with those who do not yet understand the liberty they have in Christ. Yet, even here we need to be careful, for this bearing with those who are weak, is not what many people might think it is. The bearing with the weak is defined like this, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” That is, bearing with those who are weak, does not mean leaving them where they are, it means patiently seeking to build that person up. It means seeking to strengthen them in their faith, and in how to live in keeping with that faith. This becomes apparent when we look further at the reason for this, “For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”” What we find is that Christ is both the reason for living this way, and the pattern for how to do this. He is the pattern because of what he did. He took upon himself the sins of those who believe, taking the reproach against God that they represent upon himself. He patiently bore his sufferings, so that he could save his people, and he did this so that they, by grace through faith, would be transformed into his own likeness. So in what he did, bearing the sins of his people and patiently working to transform them, he shows both the ground and the pattern for us. The ground or reason for our bearing with others is that Christ did that for us. He did not leave us as we are, but died to save us and transform us. The pattern he gave us, is one of patient love that does not capitulate to sin, but seeks to transform people to be what he has called them to be. Think of how patient Christ has been with you. Think of how he has works through the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures. Think of how he has transformed you life by his grace and Spirit. Now apply that to how you deal with fellow Christians. Not in the wrong way, thinking that you can save them because only Christ can do that, but in the right way, following the patient pattern of Jesus. The other thing we find is that working for the good of others, is based firmly in what the Bible teaches us. We read, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Far from trying to find ways around what the Bible teaches us about how we should live, bearing with those who are weak seeks to make them more and more aware of what the Bible has to say. It is in the Scriptures that we find the instruction and encouragement that we all need so that we can continue to live in hope. Finally, this is all done to the glory of God. First, because we cannot do it without his grace. He must be working in all of us to bring about this sort of bearing with one another. That is why this section ends with a request to God, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is God who grants this, and so the only way we can live this way correctly is to turn to him and his grace every day. That means prayer, lots and lots of prayer. Although we have to strive to live this way, the fact that is ultimately depends on God's grace means that in the end the glory goes to him. So we do this so that God will be shown as glorious in our lives in how we treat one another. Now, with all that in mind, I hope you realize that this sort of bearing with and pleasing of those who are weak, is far from easy. In fact it is far from being what the world thinks of pleasing at all. For it will at times require not mere patience, but also admonitions, corrections, and rebukes. It requires constantly calling for others and ourselves to conform ourselves more and more to the pattern God has given in his word. It means at times encouraging people, and at other times pointing out where they are going wrong. Many of these things are not pleasant, but that is what bearing with one another is all about. It is about continuing to point people to Jesus and his Word, so that they by the grace of God and the working of the Spirit might be transformed to be like Jesus. And, it is about listening to those who seek to correct you Scripturally as well. But, it is never about compromising with sin, for that will not bring glory to God. So this section ends with these words, “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” May I be more like this; may you be more like this so God will be glorified.

Only Three Days

I know I shouldn't be this excited, but I AM! ONLY THREE MORE DAYS 'TIL WE LEAVE FOR THE BANNER!!!

I'm Not Lovin' It

As reported first on Pyromaniacs on the McDonald's sponsored Kidzworld site there are some rather troubling things. I would have expected that they would have a nice site with good safe things for kids, but on that site they have many things that are at best questionable, and at worst downright destructive. There is a whole section on Goth and by following the links in that section one very quickly ends up in sections dealing with the not so good parts of the web. Ok, the downright evil parts of the web. McDonald's is even so helpful as to have whole sections on Wicca seeking to debunk the myths about the evil of witchcraft. However, search for Christian and you find links on celebrities like Christian Bale or Christian Kane. As you scroll down there are some more things that I in the broad scope of Christian, but no explanation of what Christians believe. Even searching for Christianity only gets the following results:

• Pledge of Allegiance Debate | Kidz Submits | Kidzworld's Members Feedback | United States
  

• Pledge of Allegiance Debate | Under God | United States | Politics | Supreme Court | Feedback
  

• St. Patrick's Day | History | Ireland | Picture | Legend | Story | Shamrock | Green | Parade | Irish | March 17, 2006
  Why is it that on March 17th, everyone goes crazy with shamrocks, the color green and leprechauns? You can find out here!

I must admit I like McDonald's food, especially their toasted Deli Sandwiches, but I am not sure I want my dollars supporting a corporation such as this.

The Doctrine of Justification

My reading has taken a definite serious turn. From fiction novels to good solid theology. So, I have turned my mind to study the doctrine on which the church hinges, Justification. To do so I decided to re-start reading a book I started to read a while back, but got too busy with other things to complete. Now I try to read a chapter or so a day, and that seems to be working well. The book is The Doctrine of Justification by James Buchanan--subtitled An Outline of its History in the Church and of its Exposition from Scripture J.I. Packer had this to say about this book, "The doctrine of justification by faith is like Atlas: it bears a world on its shoulders, the entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace. The doctrines of election, of effectual calling, regeneration, and repentance, of adoption, of prayer, of the church, the ministry, and the sacraments, have all to be interpreted and understood in the light of justification by faith. When justification falls, all true knowledge of the grace of God in human life falls with it, and then as Luther said, the church itself falls. The value of Buchanan's book today is that it will help us to understand this message better, and so to preach it in the full and comprehensive way in which the modern world need to hear it. This is still the best textbook on this subject, from the standpoint of the classic covenant theology." There were two things that I found fascinating in the introduction. Remember that this book was originally published in 1867. Buchanan states, "looking at the character of our current literature, may it not be said that, to a large class of minds in the present age, nothing could well be more new than the old Theology of the Reformation?" What caught my eye here is how true that was not just then, but still is today. The doctrines of the Reformation seem to have been lost even in many Reformed denominations. Second, what caught my eye is his guiding principle, "that the only effective refutation of error is the establishment of truth. Truth is one, error is multiform; and truth, once firmly established, overthrows all the errors that either have been, or may yet be, opposed to it. He who exposes and expels an error, does well; but it will only return in another form, unless the truth has been so lodged in the heart as to shut it out for ever." This serves as a good reminder that as a pastor my task is not merely to reveal and correct error, but much more importantly to proclaim the truth in such a way that believers are filled with it and error is cast out. So far this book has been fascinating. I am looking forward to the rest of it.

Interesting Survey Results

I receive an e-mail update from canadianchristianity.com and in the most recent one there was an article concerning the results of a survey of pastors that has some concerning results. I thought I would post the article in total in my blog, so here it is:

Clergy spiritually exhausted, stressed out

by Amy Cameron

FORGET the demise of the church. Look closer. Our ministers, according to a new study, are spiritually exhausted, stressed out, have few friends and little support. In short, Christian ministry in Canada is, in the words of the author of a recent report, "in crisis."

'Clergy Well-Being: Seeking Wholeness with Integrity,' a report compiled by Andrew Irvine of Knox College,shows that 77 percent of the surveyed clergy felt they were more like a CEO than a pastor; 18 percent could not identify a close friend in church or their community; and 80 percent felt guilty if caught taking time off during the week even though most work a 50-hour week.

"There is a big disconnect between the call to ministry and what they actually do," says Irvine."There were major issues around things like identity, relationships and competition among clergy."

Irvine was recently appointed director of the Centre for Clergy Care and Congregational Health,officially launched in February. Jointly sponsored by Emmanuel College and Knox, both at the University of Toronto, the centre will focus on helping clergy deal with the stressors identified in the study. "How do we use this data redemptively to bring change to the church and those who serve it?" asks Irvine. "We see it as being a crisis."

The study, begun in 2003and funded by the Beatty Ryckman Trust, drew on responses from the clergy in six major denominations in Ontario: United, Presbyterian,Anglican, Evangelical Lutheran, Baptist and Pentecostal. Initially,questionnaires were sent to a sample group representing 30 percent of the clergy. With a 27 percent response rate, the data was then used to focus questions in direct interviews with men and women in ministry.

"Eighty-three percent saw a call to minister in a traditional sense. I am called of God," says Irvine, who also acts as coordinator of theological field education at Knox College and is the author of Between Two Worlds: Understanding and Managing Clergy Stress.

"But then when you ask them about the job, more than 80 percent said that it is more that of a CEO than a pastor."

And with the almost constant barrage of speculation about the demise of the church, adds Irvine,ministers are forced into a position of being more concerned about the survival of the church and its fiscal operation than spiritual leadership.

The issue of clergy health has come up often in the past several years. In 2001, the Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod declared clergy wellness a top priority and formed a task force to look at ways to support ministers.Pilot studies were started in three Ontario communities, and in 2005the clergy in the Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island diocese formed a professional association to offer continuing education, support and information to their members.

On a cold evening in February 2005, hundreds of people gathered in a funky downtown Toronto nightclub for the launch of a new book. All ages and stations were represented at the event, including a local minister and his wife. A well-meaning friend introduced the man to a group of people using his formal title. "Please don't," he stopped her. "Announcing that I'm a minister kills the conversation."

This story, when related to Irvine, elicits a sigh of recognition. "That's very true," he agrees.When he was a minister in the Church of Scotland, Irvine was commonly introduced as "our minister" or "the minister" but rarely, if ever, as"Andrew".

Conversations in social settings inevitably died. "We don't admit to our sins because the holy person is here," he explains. "It is an identity that you can never getaway from. A priest or minister, even when they're at home, remains a priest or minister."

In the past, professional ethics dictated that clergy should avoid forming personal relationships with members of the congregation or community. Any show of favoritism or the whiff of indiscretion could jeopardize a minister's position.

But this strict view has stifled the very human need to make and maintain close relationships."Many clergy could not identify a close friend in the church or the community," says Irvine of those surveyed in the study.

The high level of competition among clergy in the same denomination make even relationships between peers very strained. Many ministers, in fact,could only name their spouse as a close friend which, says the professor, brings up a whole host of other issues around marriage and ministry. "Clergy have been seen as either superhuman who needed no friends or subhuman who could exist without them, but certainly not human."

Isolation, balancing family with the church and fulfilling a minister's spiritual needs are among the issues that Irvine and the centre are examining in their clergy workshops across the country. By bringing together ministers from different denominations but in similar positions (rural vs. urban, for example), the workshops provide a safe and comfortable forum for men and women to discuss their problems and, most important, work toward some solutions.

"Clergy are looking to back away from the heat of the parish to work with their calling and their personal life. These are good people who want, in all sincerity, to serve God and the world in any way they can," says Irvine. "What I believe is that there lies within clergy and each one of us the means to move to recovery and health. We're now being proactive."

The centre, which is still working on a fee structure for its services (though funding will be available to those who need it, assures Irvine), will continue to research the issues surrounding ministry and will work with congregations to establish a vision for the future and help answer the question: what does it mean to be a church in the 21st century?

The ultimate goal, says Irvine, is to eventually offer online courses to clergy on issues not taught in seminary. One course, for example, could be 'How to Deal with the Antagonist in Your Midst.' "There's one or two in every congregation," laughs Irvine.

-- courtesy of Presbyterian Record

Eagle Chicks

While the original Eagle's nest sadly had infertile eggs, the people who provided the eagle cam have put in on another next with two baby eagles. It is fascinating to watch them, especially when they are being fed by their parents.

Where will it end?

More and more I am starting to wonder if the RCA has gone to far in its slide into the theologically liberal wasteland. On the RCA web-site they have on this page a section on Earth Day promoting having churches do an Earth Day Sunday. It reads as follows:

Earth Day Sunday

Praising the beauty of God's creation is an essential part of our ongoing faith journey and worship experience and each year we dedicate one Sunday to lift up creation stewardship as a focus through a Earth Day celebration.Each year, the National Council of Churches' Eco-Justice Working Group focuses on a particular environmental theme and highlights a number of ways individuals and congregations can celebrate and protect God's creation. We hope these ideas inspire further thoughts, conversations,and actions in answering God's call to be faithful stewards of creation.

You may not see what is wrong with this at first glance, but notice that the first line calls for Christians to praise the beauty of God's creation. This is directly against God's commands to praise him and him only. Only God is worthy of our praise and worship, and to praise the creation in a worship service is to place an idol on the throne of God. This call is to outright disobedience to God in the name of being socially active Christians. Yet, things get worse. For not only do we have that line, but if you follow the link in the news alert to the "resources" for celebrating Earth day, you are linked to the National Council of Churches web-site there you will find such helpful headings as: Sacred Oceans and Seas Life-Giving Breath of God: Protecting Precious Air Resources Waters of Life: Enough for All Notice how the language used for each of these use terms that, intentionally or not, deify the creation. This is done by using terms that refer to our triune God to refer to the aspects of his creation that is being "praised." This is simply creation worship under the guise of Christianity. I would have looked at the resources themselves, but to do so I would need to register which I have no desire to do. People wonder why the RCA is consistently loosing members. They think that neat programs like 'NCD' and 'Purpose Driven' will make a difference while the real problem is that we as a denomination are in disobedience to our Lord and his revealed will in the scriptures. The problems are not simply the lack of discipline of those ministers, classies and congregations who are 'marrying' and lobbying for the ordination of practicing homosexuals. It is a fundamental abandonment of scripture as our guiding authority.

Interesting Take on the Mega-Church from 'King of the Hill'

I ran into this on another blog, and found it an interesting take on Christianity and the Mega-church by the creator of King of the Hill Mike Judge who as far as I know is and unbeliever. King of The Hill

More Happenings From a "partner" in the Formula of Agreeement

I probably should have posted on this before, as I had read about it elsewhere, but this commentary by Al Mohler reminded me of it. A congregation in the PCUSA has accepted into their membership a professed Atheist. He denies the existence of God, that Jesus is the Son of God, and all the other basics of the Christian faith, joining as a political move. It seems that there is a request for the Presbytery to deal with this, but I bears watching as if the PCUSA does not do anything to discipline the Session and Minister in this situation, and the Synod follows suite, then we can officially state that the PCUSA has become a false church, and all ties must be severed. As I said this needs to be watched by us as it unfolds further. Edit May 3, 2006: Here is the link to the article by atheist who joined this PCUSA congregation.

Same Process Going On

I was reading the following op-ed piece by David Kupelian, the author of The Marketing of Evil, and it struck me that a very similar process seems to be being used in the RCA. It is not as overt, but it certainly seems to be there. First there is the desensitization by the constant unwillingness to deal with one of our partners in the Formula of Agreement concerning their practice of not only ordaining practicing homosexuals, but of encouraging all the churches in their fellowship to do so. Again and again when overtures come seeking something to be done about this, nothing is done because we can't divide over an issue of Christian practice. Now we have the 3 year dialogue. Even the language used for those congregations that have abandoned the clear teaching of scripture, "Open and Affirming" is perjoritive. I guess that means all the churches that seek to be true to the Biblical injunctions against homosexual practice are "Closed and Demeaning!" The only thing we don't have yet is diversity seminars. Next we have the 'jamming' of those who are against the push toward being "Open and Affirming." As mentioned we are apparently close minded biggots to call for someone to show a change in lifestyle following conversion. We are charged with being "single issue" people who don't care for the poor the downtrodden and the oppressed, because GLBT people are the oppressed aren't they. Finally we have what Kupelian calls "Conversion" where people's views on homosexual practice are re-educated to break down the stereotypes that homosexual practice is wrong. We are not there yet, and I pray we never will be. I have not yet read Kupelian's book, but it is on the list of books I want to get out of the library. Hopefully our small town library will soon have a copy.

Going To the Banner In May

As I have mentioned before, I am planning to attend the Banner of Truth Minister's Conference. Well, I am now all registered and ready to go. It is still a month away, but I am very much looking forward to the teaching and fellowship with other ministers who share in the amazing doctrines of grace. At this point it sounds like we have a large group coming from our area of Ontario, although I have not heard the exact numbers, but I was told that we have a 'busload' of people. I would guess that was speaking figuatively, but one never knows. One of the things I enjoy almost as much as the conference is the time of fellowship and conversation during the long trip down and back again. If you are a minister or elder consider attending this conference. It is well worth your time.

Scottish Theologian

You scored as James Orr. You are James Orr. You are not afraid of Scholarship, but you know that scholarship is not necessarily objective. James Orr 95% Thomas Boston 90% John Knox 75% James Denney 70% Thomas Chalmers 65% Which Scottish Theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

My New Laptop

I finally reached the last straw with my old laptop. It was getting a little long in the tooth anyway (about 7-8 years old), but it constant tendency to have the power go off with no warning and not being able to get it to power back up again finally pushed me over the edge. So I bit the bullet and purchased a new laptop. Now I am the happy owner of a Toshiba A100-LE1. It is a nice little beastie, with a DVD writer, built in wireless and wired networking, 80Gig HD, 512Mb memory, and a nice Celeron M 390. Certainly a big step up from my old Toshiba Satellite 2100cads running at 400mhz. Well, that is my new work partner. So far I don't mind Windows XP, but it still seems like most windows versions I have used, ok but full of aggravation :)

Da Vinci Code

With the Da Vinci Code movie scheduled to be released May 19th, I thought that the opening article of the Solid Ground from Stand to Reason would be helpful to some of you. It is a good response to Dan Brown's book, and has some helpful questions to ask people who my confront you based on that book. Check it out at Solid Ground.

Sad But Not Surprising

Kim Riddlebarger posted yet another example of more biblical ignorance among Christians. A survey done among regular church attenders in the UK showed they could not put key Biblical events in chronological order. I wonder first how well my congregation would do, but this also makes me wonder what have churches been teaching to leave people with no idea about even big events in the Bible.

Oh The Times They Are A Changing

As I was browsing through some of my favorite blogs tonight, I found an entry in my friend Michael Haykin's blog pointing to yet another blog that has been added to my subscriptions. It is Denny Burk's blog, and I suggest you check it out. What prompted this post was a post by Denny Burk concerning the fact that although in the past a general consensus could be found throughout evanglicalism, that consensus is not really there any longer. In fact many of the things the Carl Henry wrote about liberalism can now be found in some parts (popular parts at that) of evangelicalism. It seems times have changed and the group that was known for standing against liberal theology, has lost its grounding. Check out Denny Burk: Could Carl Henry Be Wrong?

Our Obsession With Numbers

Today as I was reading some of the blogs I frequent, I read this article posted on Doxoblogy. The article by Steve Green points out how our obsession with numbers (attendance, baptisms, etc) can be a great danger, because it can easily miss that God uses what is weak, powerless and despised by this world to achieve his goals. Numbers are not always the best way to determine the effectiveness of a ministry. As a pastor of a small congregation in a small town where there are already several large congregations, it is good to be reminded that numbers are not everything. Yes, I would love to see many more people come in, but as I have served here, I have seen other changes and other growth in the members of this congregation that cannot be boiled down to numbers, and those things are at least as important although not as easy to quantify.

Cookies!

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Now Even Cats Can Be Terrorists

Reports in the Connecticut Post Online, A ferocious feline terrorized a quiet Fairfield neighborhood, to the point that residents are seeking help from the law to stop the so-called "Terrorist of Sunset Circle." Lewis, a 5-year-old, black-and-white long haired cat, attacked at least a half-dozen people on the cul-de-sac and even took on the local Avon lady, neighbors say. "He looks like Felix the Cat and has six toes on each foot each with a long claw," Sunset Circle resident Janet Kettman said. "They are formidable weapons." I always knew there was a reason I didn't trust cats. To read the whole story you can find it here. This link will work for 14 days, after that you will have to search for it using their search engine.

Abdul Rahman

With the charges dropped by the court in Afghanistan because of lack of evidence and a belief that Rahman is not mentally competent, he has been freed. However, the story is not over. Apparently the Parliament of Afghanistan is now saying that he should not be allowed to leave the country even though he has been offered asylum in Italy.

Eagle Nest

Tim Challies posted this link on his blog, and I found it rather amazing. I have always considered Eagles to be beautiful birds, and to be able to watch a streaming video feed of an Eagles nest is fascinating. Check out Eagles Nest Video.

Very Interesting Post

Yet another thing that points out that the origin of all things cannot be explained without a creator.

It Seem People Really Don't Know

As I was going through the various news stories found at the Pearcey Report I went to read this article. The article recounts the fact that the St. Paul City Hall removed a toy rabbit, pastel-colored eggs and a sign with the words "Happy Easter" from their lobby. The concern that prompted this was that they thought they might offend non-Christians. It seems that they are under the misapprenhension that Easter is about some rabbit and coloured eggs. I guess that is why Christians have celebrated it for the last 2000 years. The only person there who may realize this has nothing to do with Easter is Council Member Dave Thune who wondered, 'why they can't celebrate spring with "bunnies and fake grass."' Ok strike that, he seems to be under the impressiong that Easter is a celebration of spring. Frankly, I am offended by the rabbit and eggs because I am a Christian. That is not what Easter is all about, and to think otherwise is complete ignorance. Easter is about one thing only, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead showing his victory over sin and death for all who believe in him. The last thing I want is for the world to co-opt Easter like they have Christmas. Perhaps it is time to have real Easter decorations (and Good Friday ones for that matter). How about an empty tomb decoration? Anyone have other ideas how to fight against this trend to make all the Christian faith into excuses to buy chocolate and tacky decorations that have nothing to do with what is actually be celebrated, or good ideas for real Easter decorations?

Two More Sermons

Here are two new additions to the streaming sermons. How To Worship The One God Do Not Take God's Name Lightly I actually don't know how well these are streaming, so if you have any problems comment about it so I can try to fix it.

HE IS HOME

We just received a call from Annette's father, and he is home! Yes, we are surprised by this, at least I am! They talked to a health care professional (Annette doesn't remember what the person actually is) and they said Justin should not come up until after he has finished his current medication (For more information on that go to here to find out more) so Annette will not be going up to help until Monday. Thank-you again for all your prayers.

What's New With My Father In Law

I realized it has been a while since I have given an update here. His recovery is going well. He is able to walk down the hall and back in the hospital with a walker for support, and his blood is looking pretty good. They took the filter out of the vein in his leg, and so far he has had no clots. If they can get his blood to the correct thinness for two days in a row then he will be able to go home. His blood was at the correct level on Monday, and we hoped he could go home on Tuesday. Yet, by Tuesday it was not at the correct level. I am not sure on this, but as I understand it if his blood were at the correct level today, he would need to maintain that for tomorrow before they would let him go home. We are still hoping he will get home this week, but if not it will hopefully be soon. With that in mind I want to thank you all for your prayers. Through all this God has made his grace known, and shown that it is sufficient for our needs. That is a great thing to learn.

Persecution For The Name of Christ

The news broke in the last couple of days about a Christian in Afghanistan who faces execution for converting to Christianity. For more information you can look at Michelle Malkin's Site or check out Al Mohler's blog On section in the report that caught my attention was this one, "The judge, however, holds hopes for a solution. "We will ask him if he has changed his mind about being a Christian," Mawlazezadah says. "If he has, we will forgive him, because Islam is a religion of tolerance."" Emphasis mine. This quote shows something important about Islam and it's view of tolerance, and it is not something that should set our hearts at ease. Pray that God will work in this situation, so that he is glorified either in the release of one of his saints or if that is not his will, that he would use this to bring others to Christ.

Faith and Emotions

Read this on Wittenberg Gate today. This is something that I have strived to get into the minds of the younger people of the congregation I minister to. They has such a feelings based approach to faith, that when the feelings are not there with the same fervor as they were before, they wonder if they still have faith. When I read this, I thought that it said what I have been trying to say very well.

NEW SERMON ONLINE

It has been a while since I have added a sermon to the streaming audio sermons. What can I say, I have been busy. Today I added the next in the series on the 10 Commandments looking at the first commandment. You can listen to it by clicking No Other Gods

HOW CAN THIS BE

I was reading on Riddleblog today and found this post rather disturbing. How a person can be a pastor and not know the answers to these questions is problematic at best. I understand that the questions are filled with Christian terminology, and I wouldn't expect many members in the church to necessarily be able to understand them or give a correct answer. But, pastors should know this. It is part of their job to know this. If I went to an engineer and they didn't know about material strengths and the like, I would probably go find another engineer. If I went to a doctor and he didn't know about the human body, I would probably go find another doctor. But, for a minister who deals with eternal life, I guess people don't care if they know what scripture teaches.

Feeling better, but not completely

Last night was my first good night of sleep since getting sick on Friday. I slept the entire night, didn't have to kick the sheets off the bed because I was too hot, or put an extra comforter on later because I was too cold. I woke up in the same spot that I fell asleep, and I feel much better than yesterday. I am not 100%, but when I went down for breakfast, the idea of bacon and eggs actually sounded, looked and smelled good to me. Up to this morning any meat at all would turn my stomach, and all I could really eat without upsetting my stomach was toast and chicken broth. This morning I could enjoy a real breakfast, so I figure the worst is past. Good thing because it looks to be a busy week. We have a combined service of prayer for crops and industry with the local CRC congregation on Wednesday where I will be preaching. I have a video of our church worship service to edit for broadcast, and I have my regular pastoral tasks as well. I'm glad this didn't last as long as it did with my wife, but it would have been much preferable to not have it at all :)

Sick

If you look at the time stamp of this one you might wonder why I am even up. Well, I am sick. Headache, stomach ache, fever, chills, even my hair hurts. I slept for a while, but then go so uncomfortable that I thought I would see if sitting up feels better. It doesn't, but it was worth a try. My wife had the same thing a week or so back--now I know what she went through. Hopefully Justin won't catch this one as it is very uncomfortable. That about does it, I just wanted to share my discomfort with everyone who reads this :) Now I am going to see if lying down helps. Maybe I will sleep. That would be good I think.

Surgery Went Well

We just heard from Annette's mom that her dad came through the surgery very well. To prevent any blood clots that may form for going to his lungs they have placed a temporary filter in the large vein in his leg. He is currently in recovery, and will then be moved to ICU. The concerns are how his blood will do, and will have to monitor it. He was put right back on the heparin after the surgery.

Another Change

They have rescheduled my father-in-laws surgery again. Now it will be on Thursday at 9:00am. They have the OR booked, and the bed in ICU booked. For now they are keeping him in a segregated room to avoid him getting any infections. Hopefully this will be the last change.

Father-in-law's surgery

My father-in-law's surgery was moved back to Wednesday. The doctors want an ICU bed available for him following the surgery. There was one available until Sunday night a person came in with a major heart-attack. That filled that bed, so the surgery could not be done. They have rescheduled the surgery for Wednesday at 3:30pm D.V.

Update on Father-in-law

Today my father-in-law will be moved from Palmerston Hospital to Grand River hospital in preparation for part 2 of the repair of his hip. The surgery is planned for Monday, and when it is done, the rehabilitation will be like that done with a hip replacement. In fact this second surgery is basically a hip replacement to replace the first one that failed that started out this whole process with the first surgery to clean up the place where the pin goes in and treat it with antibiotics. We don't have a time yet for when the surgery will be done on Monday, but please pray that those doing the surgery will be given clear minds, skilled hands, and wisdom to know what to do to make this successful.

True For Us As Well

I found this blog entry, and found it sadly describes the RCA pretty much dead on. No pun intended

Dwelling of God

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:22 (ESV) Sometimes I think today we really don't get how amazing the church is. We find many people, so called Evangelicals, saying we should get rid of the church. Oh, there intentions are good--they see a generation of people who are against organizations like churches, and figure by doing away with the institutional church they will appeal to these people. But if they really want to do that, if they really think the church has not place today, what do we do with scriptures like the above. It is from a section of Ephesians that speaks of how Christ takes people who are separated from God and from one another and brings them together into a new people. That sections ends with the words above, that we who believe are not only brought together, having the separation between one another and God removed, but we are also built "together" into a place for God to live. That is, the church, the gathered believers in Jesus Christ, are where God dwells. I can hardly comprehend that truth. As we are brought together as believers, we are where God lives. How could we ever think that the very dwelling of God that Christ suffered, died and rose to establish, is of no importance merely because the culture around us doesn't like institutions. Perhaps the problem is that we don't really understand who we are as the people of God in Christ. If we really started to understand that, and live that perhaps we would not be so quick to downplay it.

Brian McLaren at RCA GS in June

I saw this in the newsletter sent out by the Central College. BRIAN MCLAREN TO SPEAK AT RCA GENERAL SYNOD — Noted Christian author and lecturer, Brian McLaren, will be a keynote speaker at the RCA General Synod (June 8-13) at Central this summer. McLaren, author of The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix, Finding Faith, and A Generous Orthodoxy, will address delegates on Saturday night, June 10. Time magazine listed McLaren as one of America’s 25 most influential evangelicals in 2005. To access additional information on Brian McLaren go to www.anewkindofchristian.com. Why is it that the RCA seems compelled to bring in speakers of questionable theology? First is was Anne Lamott whose views on abortion cause me to shudder being a speaker at the RCA women's trienial. Now this will be presented to GS delegates. Of course would they ever consider having someone with solid theology speak? Probably not, it might offend people in the liberal wings of the denomination. Well, for the record I am offended by this.

John The Baptist And His Seeker Driven Preaching

I was reading Luke 3 this evening before bed, and was struck by the preaching of John the Baptist. He is a fine example of seeker driven preaching. We read the following: "He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."" Luke 3:7-9 I will let you form your own conclusions from that.

Snow Day

Today is the classic snow day. Windy, cold, and snowsqualls off the lake. At times I can't even see across the road. I guess today will be a stay at home and work day.

I always knew it

I took this online quiz. Boy, big surprise . . . not. My nerdiness level: High-Level Nerd. You are definitely MIT material, apply now!!!.

Great Resource

In my searching around on the web, I discovered this site from Covenant Seminary. It contains the lectures of a whole host of seminary level courses. Some even include .pdf files with transcripts and handouts. Well worth a look.

Instructions For People Set Free

The first sermon in our congregations first study on the Ten Commandments is now posted here Click to Listen

Banner of Truth 2006 Conference Information Released

Today I found that the Banner of Truth has released the information for the 2006 pastor's conference in Grantham PA. The information is in this PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file. It is free and can be downloaded from Adobe.com As I said in my previous post about this conference, it has been one of the most beneficial things I have done as a minister. I wish I had went years back. It is well worth your time, and the time of your Elders to come. It is open to men only, so they are freed to focus on the teachings being given.

What a pierced heart

"Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Acts 2:36 I am sometimes amazed at how often I can read something, yet still miss it. It was only as I read this verse of the day that it struck me how these words would have pierced the hearts of those who heard them. The Jewish people had been waiting for the Christ for centuries. They had prided themselves on their religious obedience. Yet, what did all that get them? When the Christ came, did they recognize him? Did they receive him joyfully? Did they follow him? No, here Peter points out to them that the very Christ they were looking for, the very Lord they should have honored and followed, is the one whom they cried out to Pilate, "Crucify him, crucify him." The one whom they mocked, demeaned, and derided. The one whom they crucified. I cannot imagine how that would have cut to the heart of their self trust, but I know it does to mine. For while I was not back there some 2000 years ago, Jesus died for my sins. He died for all the times that I have ever gone wrong in my walk with God. He died for every idle word that does not bring glory to God. He died for ever idle thought that I did not take captive but let wander off down roads of the mind that should never be trod. He died for every moment when I live my life without the realization that I live always before the face of God. That pierces my heart, for I know how far I am from being the person I should be as someone who is joined through faith to Jesus Christ, and it moves me to go again to the only place I can find hope. For the very cross that convicts me of my sin, is also the very cross where my sins can be and have been dealt with. There at the cross, I find not only how horrible my sin is, but also I find that the Son of God died willingly to free me from that sin--from the punishment it deserves which he willingly took upon himself, and for its power over me, so that in him I can now say no to sin and yes to God. My question to all those who read this is does this pierce your heart? Does it cut you to the quick? Does it drive you to your knees? If it does then turn back to that cross again, and remember that Jesus died that death to set his people free from sin. Renew your faith in him, and seek to live in light of the cross. For there you find the only remedy that will clean your guilty conscience.

Which LOTR Character Am I

You scored as Gandalf. You are Gandalf! This wise, old mage is loyal and brave. He is known for his counsel and advice to his friends and allies during tough times. "All you have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you." Gandalf 75% Eowyn 56% Samwise 56% Frodo 50% Aragorn 50% Arwen 50% Faramir 44% Pippin 31% Gollum 31% Which LOTR character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Morning Meditation

The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” Exodus 34:5-9 This was part of my Bible reading this morning. It is a wonderful passage that I have preached on in the past. At its heart is speaks about our awesome God. He is a covenant keeping God who is merciful, gracious, loving and faithful among other wonderful attributes. Yet, just because God is all of these, does not mean that he is not just. He will by no means clear the guilty. As I considered this once again, I realized that it is a call to myself and all people. We are guilty sinners in ourselves. We cannot stand on our own before the court of God expecting that he will clear us because we tried to make up for our sins with some half-hearted "good" works. God will by no means clear the guilty who come this way. The only hope we have is to come God's way. The way he has provided so that he can exercise his mercy, and forgiveness. Thankfully, God has provided this way through his Son Jesus Christ. He is the one who provides all we need through His perfect obedience which fully fills all the requirements of God's law. He is the one who willingly took the curse and punishment our guilt deserved upon Himself, suffering the suffering, facing the hell, and dying the death of punishment for all who trust in him. In doing that He brought the perfect justice of God and the perfect forgiveness of God together, showing how God can be just and merciful at the same time. What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus the Lord. In light of all this Moses response seems so very appropriate. We read, "And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”" How can I not bow down and worship our most holy God? How can you not worship? What further caught my eye was Moses prayer. It convicted me as a pastor. He said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance." I guess some might take him to task in calling the people stiff-necked, but I know who I am and you know who you are. We are a stiff-necked people. If you are a pastor you realize that is true about not only yourself, but those you have been called to minister with. We may complain about that often. Yet how often do we bow before God and plead, even though we are a stiff-necked people, that God would go in our midst? How often doe we plead for God to wash us and those in our care of all our unrighteousness? How often do we plead with God to make us and those stiff-necked people we pastor, His inheritance? I know that I don't pray that way as often as I should. Before the word of God I stand convicted. Do you? It is only as God goes in our midst that we will be the people God has called us to be. All the conferences, programs, and plans in the world will come to nothing if God is not in our midst. It is only as God washes us clean of all unrighteousness that we will shine forth as lights in this world of darkness. Only then will people who do not know God start to see Him though his people. It is only as God make us his inheritance, His beautiful portion, that we will be moved from the wilderness to the promised land. The challenge to me is to stop saying prayer is important, and to start living out that truth and pray. That is the challenge to you as well, for all the great works of God start with prayer. If you are a pastor, and are discontent with the people God has put under your care finding them stuborn and intractable; remember who God is and bow down before Him. Don't simply complain, instead pray God to be in the midst of your congregation. Then all the plans and programs will bear the fruit that He gives.

Streaming Sermons

Today I started to do something that I have been thinking of doing for a while, putting my sermons online in a streaming format. I did a little bit of research, and a little bit of trial and error. Finally, after all that, I got them up and running. I am currently hosting them on my home machine, and as long as I can I will continue to do so. The downside of doing this is that they will not be online when I have my machine off. Either way, I find this really quite interesting that I can do such things with such relative ease. If I wanted to I could also stream our worship services live although that would require a somewhat larger outlay on some additional hardware. If you want to check them out you can go to Streaming Sermons

Just so I can comment

I didn't really need another blog. My primary blog is found on Live Journal at
Live Journal However, I needed a way to comment on some blogs I read, and that required a blogger account. If you want to read my regularly updated blog, check out Live Journal I will probably post here on occasion, but not very frequently.

Reminded of the blood

You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons' garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him. Exodus 29:19-21 As I was reading this during my morning devotions, it struck me what was being done here. A sacrifice was made to consecrate Aaron and his sons. A Ram was put to death in their place. Yet, notice what was done. The blood of that Ram that died in their place was mixed with oil and sprinkled on them leaving the stain of that blood on the linen robes they wore. That meant as the priests served in the temple, they carried the constant reminder of this sacrifice for their sins with them. Those stains were a constant reminder that they could only approach God because of the blood of the sacrifice. This brought to mind several things for me. First, that a Christian believers, it is only through the blood of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that we can approach God. It is in him and his sacrifice that we are washed clean. While we are not marked with the physical blood of the Lord, we still should always seek to remember that sacrifice that brings us to God. We need to be constantly reminded that it is only through the blood of the Lamb of God that we sinners can come to God. If that filled our minds, wouldn't it change how we live, moving us to greater gratitude and love for our heavenly Father. He did not spare his own Son, but gave him for us. Wouldn't keeping this in our mind help us be humble and Christ focused? So we need to seek to keep the sacrifice of the Son in our minds, because as we focus on the cross, we are strengthened to live as people of the the cross. Second, it reminded me of a message preached by Doug Kelly at the Banner of Truth conference when he commented on Revelation 6:9. There we read, "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne." He pointed out that their proximity to the alter in heaven would be a constant reminder of the love of our Lord and his blood shed for them. Here in this world, we often struggle to remember our Lord Jesus Christ, but when we come to eternity, we will no longer struggle with this. There we will always remember the love of Christ shown to us. We will always be reminded of how wonderful he is, and we will be single-heartedly focused on him. What a glorious thing to be reminded of that great love, of our great and glorious Lord, and of his willing sacrifice for the sins of his people. May that be what fills our minds as we minister in whatever role God provides for us. For we can only minister as God requires, as we live as people washed in the blood of Jesus.

Update on Father in Law

The latest news on my father in law is quite good. The doctors are very happy with how the blood thinners are working on the clots, and how well my father in law is handling it. His surgeon came to seem him at last, and has scheduled him for the completion of the repair of his hip replacement on the 27th of February. Now that we have a date, he has something to work toward. They are intending to keep him on heparin until that time because they can take him off of it the evening before the operation, and put him back onto it almost right after the operation, which should help prevent any further clotting. Because it is still almost a month until the surgery, they will be moving him back to the Palmerston hospital either today or tomorrow so he will be closer to home.

Banner of Truth Pastors Conference

One of the things I wish I had discovered early on in my time as a pastor is the Banner of Truth Ministers' Conference. I started attending three years ago, and it has done more to strengthen me as a minister of the Word than anything else I have done. The first year I attended, when I returned one of my Elders said I should go to this sort of conference more often. Then realizing what he said, he clarified that he finds my preaching good, but it was even better after I returned from the conference. I encourage all pastors and elders who can go to attend. You will leave with a greater sense of how awesome our God is, and will be encouraged to preach the word in season and out of season. The scheduled speakers this year are Sinclair Ferguson, Joel Beeke, Philip Ryken, Ian Hamilton, Mark Johnston, and Matt Kingswood. If you want more information have a look at The Banner of Truth. At this point they have not posted the topics or registration information, but that should be posted soon.

Who's body is it anyway

I listened to this sermon over at a fellow RCA minister's blog. It was a good reminder of whom our bodies really belong.

What a thought

The following was part of my morning Bible reading today. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Exodus 9:13-16 What a thought, God could have destroyed Pharaoh and his people in such a way that they would have been completely destroyed, but he allowed them to continue in life. Even more, he allowed them to continue to fight and rebel against Him. This was not a sign of God's weakness, but rather of His overarching control of all things. For, he would turn that resistance to praise of His name, to show that God is great. Today as I consider how our culture is rebelling against God in more and more blatant ways, and even among those who go by the name of the Christian, knowing rebellion against the plain Word of God is seemingly growing. Sometimes I wonder why God allows this, and here is the answer, "to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth." What a comfort in the battle for the hearts and minds of people. God will use even the rebellion of people and nations and churches to bring glory to His name. God will be glorified in the salvation of his elect, and in the just punishment of sinners.

Update on Father in law

After it seemed like things were getting better, things have gotten worse again. The doctors were sure that the clots in his leg and lungs had stabilized, so they moved him back to Palmerston hospital to get back into his physiotherapy. However, not more than a day back in Palmerston, a clot moved into his lungs again causing another blockage. He was rushed to St. Marys Hospital in Kitchener where they have him back on heparin and will do some more tests today. To make matters even more problematic, there is a rattle in his breathing which may indicated pneumonia. Currently he is on an antibiotic to deal with pneumonia and has slightly labored breathing on 70% Oxygen. Dad is starting to despair that he will recover from this, and both he and mom are getting very tired. Please continue to pray for both of them?

Making the church attractive to the world

As I was reading a blog entry here I was struck by the statement about making the church attractive to the man outside. I have heard this statement again and again in present times. In fact this seems to be the mantra of those who teach on how the church is to grow. However, as I read that comment in relation to the discussion on the beatitudes, it hit me, why do we even think this way? Jesus taught us, "Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also." (John 15:20) By its very nature, the church is different from and unacceptable to a world under sin. The constant testimony of the Scriptures is that those who follow Jesus will be rejects, outcast, and persecuted. As Christians who take the Word of God seriously, as not just some human opinion, but as the very word of God written, we must realize that by its very nature the Church is not attractive to the world. To make it attractive to the world is not merely a matter of changing what we do, but would require either downplaying or changing of the message we are charged to proclaim. This still begs ths question, "Why do we seem to think we need to make the church attractive to the world?" There are several possible answers I can see. We could want to do this because we want people to come to embrace Christ in a true and living faith as their Lord and Saviour. This is an a very proper goal. We are called to be salt and light in this world of decay and darkness. Yet, just before that teaching by Jesus he pronounced a blessing on those who are persecuted saying, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12) So it seems that proclaiming Christ to people is not a matter of making the Church attractive, but proclaiming Christ even if that means we are rejected by many. The other reason that came to my mind why we may have the seemingly overwhelming desire to make the church attractive to the world is related to the above one. We want to win people to Christ, but we realize how attractive the world is to us in comparison to the church, and want to compete with it. The problem with this is that behind it lies something very troubling. The fact that we find the world so very attractive. In essence what we are saying is, "Yes, the world is great and fun and satisfying, but here we can make the church like that too." I say this is troubling because behind it lies not a full orbed satisfaction in Christ, but a seeming dissatisfaction with Christ, as if coming to him is not truly satisfying, but only coming to him along with all the fun of the world. Now I want to be careful here, because I do realize that often what we do as the church is not what it should be. We often have practices and traditions that are not commanded by scripture which may be what makes a particular congregation unattractive to a person. I am not by this saying that one type of song is better than another, be it traditional or contemporary. Nor am I commenting on musical instruments should be used in worship. Rather, I am trying to say that we need to realize that we do not attract people to Christ or the Church by making it attractive, but rather by proclaiming Christ in all his glory and worshiping him, whatever our worship style, with all our heart. These thoughts are just in their formative point, but where they are going is troubling.

First time changing oil

Today was a first for me, I changed the oil in my wife's Mazda Protege. I know, big strong, manly man that I am, I should have done something like that log ago, I never have. I have replaced the exhaust system on the '78 Trans Am I used to have, done tune-ups, fixed body work, and a whole host of other things, but never did an oil change. Well, today all that changed. Amazingly enough it went forward without a hitch (at least so far) and there is not oil spewing all over. For the small bit of work it took to do this, I finished an oil change with a good quality oil and a Fram oil filter for $13. I wonder why I didn't do this long ago. Now if I could only find the grease points on her car I could use my new grease gun and give them a shot of grease as well. That will have to wait for the next time I am under there.

Joys of Parenthood

Ok, this isn't really about the joys of parenthood, although there are plenty of them. Rather it was a rather tongue in cheek way of saying that often children can make life rather trying :) Our boy Justin, after sleeping well for three nights, decided that Saturday night was a good time to wake up at 2:30 and cry for an hour or so. I am the sort of person who does not handle being woken up in the middle of my sleep very well. I never seem to get back to sleep the way I need to so I can be rested the next day. So today I get to do my preaching, leading in worship, and teaching with a wonderful headache, all because I didn't get the sleep I needed last night :) Oh the wonders of having a baby in the house. At least this time he didn't scratch my cornea :D On the positive side, Justin is not usually this way. Generally he is a happy baby who may not sleep through the whole night, but who doesn't spend an hour complaining because we can't figure out what is going on with him. I think of all of us, he is the only one who slept enough to be full of energy today.

January 14th Update on Father In law

I received an update from my brother in law this morning. Bill is struggling with being in hospital. He is also struggling with an intestinal issue which made him a bit weak and tired. He has problems sleeping at night, and then has a hard time staying awake all day. The medications he is on are also affecting his mental state, making it hard for him to be alert and causing some hallucinations. A new doctor has been assigned to him for what will probably be the rest of his stay in Kitchener. The blood clots are very probably stable enough to be of no concern at this point. That means that physiotherapy can start with few worries about the clot letting loose. The blood thinners he is on, have his blood to a thin count of 1.7, the target being nicely over 2, normal being at 1, so things are going well that way. His hemoglobin count is at the bottom of normal (121, where normal is 120-160), which means he can probably stop taking the iron pills, which will help some of his stomach issue's. They will be looking into seeing if there is anything they can do about the medications affecting his mental state. As to his being in the hospital for 3 months, if he demonstrates the ability to safely move around on his own, it will be no problem for him to get out of the hospital for at least day trips.

January 12 Update on father in law

Today we went to visit Annette's father. He looked much better than he did when we saw him a week earlier. He no longer is on the Oxygen, and his breathing is pretty good. He has a cough which he picked up in the hospital before he got the clot in his lungs, but other than that he sounds good. His blood Oxygen level was 95% which is better than it was a week ago with the mask on and a high level of O2. All in all it looks like the clot is probably clearing and his lung function is improving. He will probably be transfered back to Palmerston Hospital next week. On the negative side, he has been told that he will have to remain in hospital for the next 3 months until they do the second part of his surgery. Bill is not very happy about this. Yet today we heard that if his mobility improves he may be able to go home for several hours some days, which is better than being trapped in the hospital for 3 months. He also finds sleeping very difficult even on the air mattress they have him on right now, and is still very uncomfortable. It seems that the worst with the clot is passed, which is a great answer to prayer, but if you could continue to pray that the healing will progress well it would be very much appreciated. Also, pray that he will be able to get out of the hospital soon, even if it is just for a few hours, while he waits for the second half of his surgery.

January 8th update on Father In Law

Not a whole lot of news today, which is not a surprise since it is the weekend. Dad was apparently failry uncomfortable today when he was being visited. He has been moved to another room. I'm not sure if that is a reflecton of his improved medical condition, or if it was simply to provide a better bed for him. Hopefully we will receive more detailed news as the week progresses. We still ask your prayers that things will progress well, and the clots will clear.

Father-in-law progressing in recovery

Today we heard that Bill is doing slightly better than when we saw him. His blood oxygen level is still good, and has improved enough that they could take the oxygen mask off and only use the tube on his nose. He still breaths a little more rapidly than normal, but he is not gasping for air. He remains very tired, and the hospital is going to put a special bed in to try to help him get more comfortable so he can sleep. Items for prayer: 1) That the heparin will work to dissolve the clots 2) That Bill will be able to sleep so he can regain some of his strength 3) That when they start to introduce warfarin into his system, that he will not have any adverse reaction. 4) That the doctors will have wisdom in dealing with his condition.

Update on my father in law

"We went to see my father in law today. He seems to be doing a little better, and his breathing is not labored any longer. They did a bunch of tests today to confirm that he has a blood clot in his lungs and still has one in his leg as well. The doctor came while we were visiting and confirmed that he has a pulmonary embolism which it affecting his left lung and partially affecting his right lung. His blood oxygen level is above 90% which is good, although he still needs to be on oxygen. The doctor stated that the first 72 hours are the most dangerous, so each day he stays alive should improve his situation. He is on heparin and they are going to try to get him on warfarin although he had some problems with warfarin six years ago. He still tires out very quickly. The expectation is that it will take at least 2 weeks for the clots to re-absorb, and it will be at least 6 weeks until he will be able to have the hip repair surgery completed. Reading about pulmonary embolisms shows that they are very common and very dangerous. In the US 600000 people per year will have them and of that group 100000 will die. However, those who die usually die in the first 30 to 60 minutes. That means each day improves the prognosis. Please keep lifting Bill up in your prayers as well as his wife Wilma and their family. This is a very trying time for all of us."

Prayers requested

I am not really sure how many people read this blog, but if you read it and believe in Jesus Christ, please pray for my wife's father. He is in hospital with a blood clot in his lungs. This all started a little more than 3 weeks back when he went in to have a hip replacement that was loose and infected fixed. Since the surgery he has been in hospital. Yesterday he was doing very well, feeling good, and progressing well with his rehabilitation, then today this clot happened and he had to be moved to another hospital. We don't have much details beyond him having the clot and being quite ill. My mother-in-law is very concerned. Please pray the God's glory will be seen in this as he sustains them and us through it. Also, please pray that if it is God's will, that he will bring healing. Thank-you.

Still Amazed

Once again I was amazed at how fast our son is growing. It seems that almost daily he develops some way. Yesterday he would only scoot around the floor pulling himself with his hands. Today he is using his feet to push while pulling with his hands. Annette told me that he can even stand in the bath-tub when there is no water in it. To top this off he is starting to show some problem solving attempts. Annette blocked off his access to the dog bed Riley sleeps on to keep Justin from doing his favorite thing, crawling up and grabbing Riley's paws. When Justin encountered this barricade, he tried to figure out a way around or over. He even started to try to crawl around it. Two days ago he wouldn't have done that. As I said, it is amazing how quick he develops.

Early Morning thoughts

One of the strange things that has happened to me since the birth of Justin is that the time I wake up in the morning has moved much earlier. I say this is strange because with Annette nursing him, I don't have to get up early since I cannot feed him. Yet, I still find that I am regularly up at 6am. For me this is weird because I still have difficulty getting to sleep before 11:30pm. Needless to say this has left me rather tired. Over the past couple of days I have been ill as well with aches and pains, a sore throat, and headache. Thankfully, the worst of it was on Monday, and since then I have been feeling better each day, although I am not over it yet. I can still feel it there in the background although fading.

RSS feeds

Over the past couple of days I have discovered the joy of RSS feeds. If you don't know what an RSS feed is you can look here RSS Links What I have done using them is added my most recent blog entry to my personal web-page as well as adding a page to my web page that gathers together the RSS feeds from various blogs that I read frequently. Sadly, not all of the blogs I read have RSS feeds, or if they do, they don't make it know what the address for the feed is. So I encourage all those who have blogs to set up an RSS feed. If you are with livejournal you already have one. If you are a paying user of blogspot you can set one up in your blog settings, but if you are not a paying member, you can use Feedburner.com to get a free RSS feed for your blogspot blog.

Dark, cloudy day

Today is yet another dark and dull day weather wise. None of us got much sleep last night. I could not seem to sleep more than an hour before waking up feeling uncomfortable. Whatever bug had gotten in my system leaving me feeling physically miserable all Monday is still active. Annette was woken up by Justin almost as frequently. In fact Justin is the only one who seems to have lots of energy is Justin. Oh to be a baby again.

New Years

As is our practice, we both ended the old year and started the new year in worship with our church family. What stood out to me this year was that we worshiped together with the local Christian Reformed Church this New Years day at an evening service. What I found amazing what how the message preached by the pastor of the CRC fit so well with the morning message that I preached at our New Years Day service. Both were calls for us to live as God has called us to live. My focus was on Paul's words in Philippians 2:5, "Have this mind in you, which is yours in Christ Jesus." I pointed out that those who believe in Christ are to be transformed by that, so that they have a view of the world and their lives that is in keeping with Christ following the pattern he gave of humility, obedience, and love for the glory of God. The evening service focused of how we are to live as the family of believers, bearing each others burdens and gently restoring one another when we sin. My prayer is that we will see this sort of world view fill our congregation, and my own life.