The Drama of Redemption in Ephesians 2:11-22
v. 11- The Main Characters: Jews ("the circumcision") and Gentiles ("the uncircumcision").
v. 12- The Conflict: Gentiles are "separated," "alienated," "strangers," "having no hope," and "without God in the world."
v. 13- The Turning Point: "...in Christ Jesus" the Gentiles "have been brought near."
vv. 14-18- The Twist: Jews and Gentiles "both one" in Christ.
vv. 19-20- The Resolution: Gentiles "no longer strangers and aliens," but are "fellow citizens."
v. 21- The Climax: Jews and Gentiles in Christ together a "holy temple in the Lord"
v. 22- The Moral: "...you also"?
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Preaching Christ
"Him we proclaim...." Colossians 1:28
Christ was the continually spotlighted element in Paul's ministry. Even if we did not have an explicit statement telling us this, as we do here in Colossians (see also 1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:5), we would still know it to be true from what is the general tone and content of his many sermons and epistles: Christ is simply everywhere.
But why is this so for him? The Bible is a very large book, much of it not explicitly mentioning our Lord. So why was Paul's life and ministry so explicitly "Christ-focused"?
The answer is this: because the Bible itself is "Christ-focused."
Christ is the centerpiece of all God's revelation. All of salvation history moves toward Christ, and all the parts find themselves tied together in him. The whole of the biblical plot-line (if we understand the big picture), features Jesus of Nazareth as its main character. Whether explicitly (as in the Gospels for example), or implicitly (as in the Prophets for instance), in God's divine redemptive drama, Christ has the lead role.
Tim Keller expresses this truth concisely and draws out the implications of it in such a way that I think Paul would heartily agree with:
"There are two ways to read the Bible. The one way to read the Bible is that it’s basically about you: what you have to do in order to be right with God, in which case you’ll never have a sure and certain hope, because you’ll always know you’re not quite living up. You’ll never be sure about that future. Or you can read it as all about Jesus. Every single thing is not about what you must do in order to make yourself right with God, but what he has done to make you absolutely right with God. And Jesus Christ is saying, “Unless you can read the Bible right, unless you can understand salvation by grace, you’ll never have a sure and certain hope. But once you understand it’s all about me, Jesus Christ, then you can know that you have peace. You can know that you have this future guaranteed, and you can face anything."
Christ was the continually spotlighted element in Paul's ministry. Even if we did not have an explicit statement telling us this, as we do here in Colossians (see also 1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:5), we would still know it to be true from what is the general tone and content of his many sermons and epistles: Christ is simply everywhere.
But why is this so for him? The Bible is a very large book, much of it not explicitly mentioning our Lord. So why was Paul's life and ministry so explicitly "Christ-focused"?
The answer is this: because the Bible itself is "Christ-focused."
Christ is the centerpiece of all God's revelation. All of salvation history moves toward Christ, and all the parts find themselves tied together in him. The whole of the biblical plot-line (if we understand the big picture), features Jesus of Nazareth as its main character. Whether explicitly (as in the Gospels for example), or implicitly (as in the Prophets for instance), in God's divine redemptive drama, Christ has the lead role.
Tim Keller expresses this truth concisely and draws out the implications of it in such a way that I think Paul would heartily agree with:
"There are two ways to read the Bible. The one way to read the Bible is that it’s basically about you: what you have to do in order to be right with God, in which case you’ll never have a sure and certain hope, because you’ll always know you’re not quite living up. You’ll never be sure about that future. Or you can read it as all about Jesus. Every single thing is not about what you must do in order to make yourself right with God, but what he has done to make you absolutely right with God. And Jesus Christ is saying, “Unless you can read the Bible right, unless you can understand salvation by grace, you’ll never have a sure and certain hope. But once you understand it’s all about me, Jesus Christ, then you can know that you have peace. You can know that you have this future guaranteed, and you can face anything."
Sunday, July 22, 2012
So you think you're tough, eh?
Soon I will be making the transition from being a full-time
delivery driver to a part-time church staff member. As I said yesterday, I am
eager to take hold of this opportunity given me by my church, but I also possess
some (I think) healthy fear: it is an awesome thing to minister in and among
the flock of God, which he purchased with his own blood, and to stand before
both the Almighty and before his people. It is also a difficult thing. Only a
fool would think that to wage the good warfare against the world, the flesh,
and the devil will take little effort, little time, and little suffering.
Because ministry is a difficult thing, then, it is no wonder
that the Bible speaks often of the strength needed by the one ministering. We
could turn to many places to see this, but the following three references found
in First and Second Timothy are my favorite.
1.
1 Timothy 1:12
Here the emphasis is on Christ’s identity: literally, the
Lord is “the one who has strengthened” Paul. In the context, the apostle is discussing his appointment to ministry. Not only, then, is Jesus the one who puts a person into ministry, he is also the one who empowers for it. We learn in this verse,
therefore, to see Christ as our
strength in ministry.
2.
2 Timothy 2:1
Paul instructs Timothy in this verse to “be strengthened by
the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” The emphasis is upon Christ as the source
of power, in contrast to ourselves, who are weak. Reading on in verse 2 (and indeed in the whole epistle), we see that
strength Paul is referring to is strength for Timothy to carry out his
ministry. We learn here, then, to seek Christ for our strength.
3.
2 Timothy 4:17
Finally, in this verse Paul reflects upon the fact that
Christ met his need for strength at a critical moment in ministry, helping him
to persevere when it was most necessary. The emphasis is not so much on Christ’s
identity, so much as on the fact that he was faithful to his identity in the
given situation. Here, then, we learn to stand
in Christ as our strength.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
New position
It is my tremendous joy to announce to anyone tuning in to my blog that beginning in September I will be taking a part-time staff position at Woodlands Church. I will be working with pastor John Jordens in the area of small groups and (hopefully) helping to develop a series of classes that will further the cause of adult Christian education in our congregation.
I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to my pastors and elders for giving me this opportunity to serve Christ and his body. I am filled with both eagerness and holy fear as I make this transition and will try earnestly to keep you updated on the progress of things.
Pray for me.
Grace be with you all.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
To pastor is to suffer
Richard Baxter, in his The Reformed Pastor, has the following to say about pastors who would avoid suffering by avoiding their duties. This is nothing short of a blaring alarm to not take the task of ministering lightly.
"...the common way of escaping suffering [is] to neglect the duty that would expose us to it. If we did our duty faithfully, ministers would find the same lot among professed Christians as their predecessors have done among Pagans and other infidels. But if you cannot suffer for Christ, why did you put your hand to his plough [sic]? Why did you not first sit down and count the cost? This makes the ministerial work so unfaithfully executed, because it is so carnally undertaken; men enter upon it as a life of ease, and honour [sic], and respectability, and they resolve to attain their ends, and have what they expected right or wrong. They looked not for hatred and suffering, and they will avoid it, though by avoiding of their work."
"...the common way of escaping suffering [is] to neglect the duty that would expose us to it. If we did our duty faithfully, ministers would find the same lot among professed Christians as their predecessors have done among Pagans and other infidels. But if you cannot suffer for Christ, why did you put your hand to his plough [sic]? Why did you not first sit down and count the cost? This makes the ministerial work so unfaithfully executed, because it is so carnally undertaken; men enter upon it as a life of ease, and honour [sic], and respectability, and they resolve to attain their ends, and have what they expected right or wrong. They looked not for hatred and suffering, and they will avoid it, though by avoiding of their work."
Thursday, July 5, 2012
First Sermon
Well, I have had a few busy weeks lately (hence my absence from blogging), partly as a result of needing to prepare the sermon I preached last Sunday at Community Church. I was blessed to be invited by Pastor Thomas to fill in for him and preached from Titus 2:11-14 on "Living in Light of the Gospel."
This was my first sermon in an actual local church setting. I've preached on occasion before this outside of a local congregation, but somehow this felt different. To bring the Word to God's people on the Lord's day seems more weighty than at other times. Perhaps I am mistaken on this, but nonetheless the event was significant for me and I trust it is a step along the path of the Lord's appointing.
Now for the nitty gritty, as they say. How did the sermon "go"? Below is my attempt to self-assess my message (admittedly a dangerous task), including the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
On several points, I'm not ashamed of my sermon from Sunday. First, as best as I knew how, I stuck to the text. To my knowledge, I didn't swerve to the right or to the left of the passage's meaning or the author's intent. Second, and related, as best as I knew how I maintained a "Gospel-centered" approach. Titus 2:11-14 of course makes this easy- Paul's focus is on how one's life ought to be lived in light of the Gospel- but nonetheless I tried to keep coming back to the Good News. Lastly (for now), I felt as though in general my "nerves" had little effect on my delivery.
The Bad
One thing that, were I able to do it again, I would change in my sermon relates to how I address my audience. Specifically, I would intentionally address unbelievers as unbelievers and press them with their need for Christ. Of course, there are good ways and bad ways to do this (it's annoying at best to hear the Gospel tacked on at the end of a sermon, totally disconnected from the message as a whole). Still, the bad apples ought not make us swear off fruit altogether. Another "bad" aspect of my message was the way in which I backed off on bringing in corroborating Scripture to bolster and refine my exposition. This was partly my fault, partly the result of restrictions imposed on my by my professor (as much as the message was for Community Church it also happened to work out that it filled a class requirement I have). Still, I feel as though this was a negative thing for me to do: in my future preaching I will aim at bringing in whatever texts I sense will help clarify the message and teach God's people his Word.
The Ugly
While in general my nerves didn't affect me, this is not to say they had zero impact on me- one of the sore spots of my sermon was the fact that I completely passed over a rather large portion of my message. No one in the congregation noticed, but I did (about half-way through), and it threw me a bit. On the upside, the part I blanked on was exactly the part I had told the Lord in prayer that morning, " Lord, I'm not so sure these parts fit." Perhaps the Lord thought the same thing and providentially helped me to "forget."Nonetheless, I learned a lesson. One more "ugly" thing in my judgment concerned my closing prayer. More and more I think it important to prepare for this portion of the sermon as much as for the rest. This is I'm sure more a matter of personal taste and what one is comfortable with, but for my own money I intend to no longer "wing it." Lastly, the only thing I can say is that it felt as though I had lead weights on every part of my body. My intention is never to be hyperactive in the pulpit, but still I hope to be dynamic and use my body to reinforce the message. I felt as though this was lacking.
Well, I'm sure there is more- much more- but for now these are some things I learned last weekend and will no doubt assist me in any future opportunities to preach the Lord will give me.
This was my first sermon in an actual local church setting. I've preached on occasion before this outside of a local congregation, but somehow this felt different. To bring the Word to God's people on the Lord's day seems more weighty than at other times. Perhaps I am mistaken on this, but nonetheless the event was significant for me and I trust it is a step along the path of the Lord's appointing.
Now for the nitty gritty, as they say. How did the sermon "go"? Below is my attempt to self-assess my message (admittedly a dangerous task), including the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
On several points, I'm not ashamed of my sermon from Sunday. First, as best as I knew how, I stuck to the text. To my knowledge, I didn't swerve to the right or to the left of the passage's meaning or the author's intent. Second, and related, as best as I knew how I maintained a "Gospel-centered" approach. Titus 2:11-14 of course makes this easy- Paul's focus is on how one's life ought to be lived in light of the Gospel- but nonetheless I tried to keep coming back to the Good News. Lastly (for now), I felt as though in general my "nerves" had little effect on my delivery.
The Bad
One thing that, were I able to do it again, I would change in my sermon relates to how I address my audience. Specifically, I would intentionally address unbelievers as unbelievers and press them with their need for Christ. Of course, there are good ways and bad ways to do this (it's annoying at best to hear the Gospel tacked on at the end of a sermon, totally disconnected from the message as a whole). Still, the bad apples ought not make us swear off fruit altogether. Another "bad" aspect of my message was the way in which I backed off on bringing in corroborating Scripture to bolster and refine my exposition. This was partly my fault, partly the result of restrictions imposed on my by my professor (as much as the message was for Community Church it also happened to work out that it filled a class requirement I have). Still, I feel as though this was a negative thing for me to do: in my future preaching I will aim at bringing in whatever texts I sense will help clarify the message and teach God's people his Word.
The Ugly
While in general my nerves didn't affect me, this is not to say they had zero impact on me- one of the sore spots of my sermon was the fact that I completely passed over a rather large portion of my message. No one in the congregation noticed, but I did (about half-way through), and it threw me a bit. On the upside, the part I blanked on was exactly the part I had told the Lord in prayer that morning, " Lord, I'm not so sure these parts fit." Perhaps the Lord thought the same thing and providentially helped me to "forget."Nonetheless, I learned a lesson. One more "ugly" thing in my judgment concerned my closing prayer. More and more I think it important to prepare for this portion of the sermon as much as for the rest. This is I'm sure more a matter of personal taste and what one is comfortable with, but for my own money I intend to no longer "wing it." Lastly, the only thing I can say is that it felt as though I had lead weights on every part of my body. My intention is never to be hyperactive in the pulpit, but still I hope to be dynamic and use my body to reinforce the message. I felt as though this was lacking.
Well, I'm sure there is more- much more- but for now these are some things I learned last weekend and will no doubt assist me in any future opportunities to preach the Lord will give me.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Valley of Vision: Christlikeness
I love The Valley of Vision. Here is one of my favorites (Find it at http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/dailydevotion_detail.php?3473).
Christlikeness
Father of Jesus,
Christlikeness
Father of Jesus,
Dawn returns, but without thy light
within
no outward light can profit;
Give me the saving
lamp of thy Spirit that I may
see thee,
the God of my salvation, the
delight of my soul,
rejoicing over me in love.
I commend my heart
to thy watchful care,
for I know its treachery and
power;
Guard its every
portal from the wily enemy,
Give me quick
discernment of his deadly arts,
Help me to recognize
his bold disguise as an
angel of light,
and bid him begone.
May my words and
works allure others to the
highest walks of
faith and love!
May loiterers be
quickened to greater diligence
by my example!
May worldlings be
won to delight in acquaintance
with thee!
May the timid and
irresolute be warned
of coming doom by my zeal for
Jesus!
Cause me to be a
mirror of thy grace,
to show others the joy of thy
service,
May my lips be
well-tuned cymbals
sounding thy praise,
Let a halo of
heavenly-mindedness
sparkle around me
and a lamp of kindness sunbeam my
path.
Teach me the happy
art of
attending to things temporal
with a mind intent on things
eternal.
Send me forth to
have compassion
on the ignorant and miserable.
Help me to walk as
Jesus walked,
my only Saviour and perfect
model,
his mind my inward guest,
his meekness my covering garb.
Let my happy place
be amongst the poor in spirit,
my delight the gentle ranks of
the meek.
Let me always esteem
others better than myself,
and find in true humility
an heirdom to two worlds.
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