Feeling Weary

At the Together For the Gospel Conference last month, I was introduced to a new CD by Sovereign Grace Ministries. The CD is called, "Come Weary Saints" and focuses on encouraging believers who are facing trials, who are suffering through pain or who are dealing with the reality of discouragement, depression and death. The CD beings with a song teaching us to "...hide away in the love of Jesus..." and ends with the song "It is not death to die".

This CD would be a wonderful addition to your library whether you are facing the most difficult of days in your faith or whether things are going well. You can find the CD at http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ and I believe you can download it for less than $10. You can also find it on ITunes.

Flying Purple People Eaters

There has always been a question of whether or not there is life on other planets. For most of us in the church this question has not been a vital issue to debate. Apparently the Catholic Church believes that this is an issue worth discussing.

"the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones. such a notion doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. "The extraterrestrial is my brother."

Is anything outside of God's ability. Absolutely not. Could he create life on other planets...I suppose....but what would be the purpose. On earth, the purpose of all created things is to give glory to God and to be given to Jesus Christ as an inheritance. People are created in the image of God. Would aliens be? What we need to remember is that God did create people on this earth and He has provided a means of redemption to us alone through the blood of Christ alone for his glory alone. It is true that belief in life on other planets is not contradictory to scripture, it is also true that scripture NO where suggests it. Since we have our authority on such matters from God's word, the omission should be telling.

Is E.T. really our brother? I wouldn't think so. The writer of Hebrews says that if we are united to Christ in his death and resurrection, He is our brother....for each one who shares with us that unity, they are our brothers and sisters too. Our brothers and sisters are not based on shared DNA or common creator necessarily but rather a common Redeemer. Jesus Christ, the God-Man, our prophet, priest and King....We do have an E.S (Extra Special) brother and that is Christ. We would be better off spending more time talking about Him.

Let us not worry about aliens coming to destroy this world; and Will Smith defeating them all...let us think more about a King who is returning to wage war on those not covered in His blood. Little green guys shouldn't scare us but rather the God who can see into our hearts and souls should. Thinking about one eyed, one horned, flying, purple, people eaters sure seems strange to me.

The Gospel of Moses - Exodus

When Christians read the Old Testament, there is often a sense of not clearly understanding how these things apply to us today. What can these men and women of Jewish descent teach us today....can they teach us anything.

As a fellowship we want to take the next few months to study the book of Exodus. We want to learn about the Israeli heritage that is part of our heritage, we want to learn about God's expectation of holiness for his people and most importantly we want to see Jesus Christ as the focus of all that is happening.

So, come and learn with us about a people in slavery, a savior, a redemption, a baptism and an inheritance. Come let us learn about Jesus.

A Lunch and a Movie

On May 16, The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian, will be released in theaters. If you didn't see the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, you really missed out. We want to go as a shepherding group to watch this film and to enjoy some fellowship together on Saturday May 17th, right after lunch. If you are interested in joining us let Pastor Taylor know.

In Louisville This Week

Not, looeyville...but Lu-ah-ville...

If you haven't already noticed....I am not in New York anymore. No, I haven't been swept away by a tornado...but I did hop on a plane to join 6999 other pastors, elders, men and women in Louisville, KY for a conference on the Gospel. Walter and I are having a great time hearing God's word preached several time a day. I am sure that in time you will hear of some of the things we have learned.

On Thursday we fly back to the land of Yankees...pray for us as we fly.

If you want to hear of some of the things that we have been doing check out www.challies.com for a recap of some of the weeks events. We look forward to getting back home and continuing our journey "together for the Gospel" as well.

Wisdom and Christ

I hope you guys had a great weekend with Dr. Russell Moore. I thought that he did a wonderful job of teaching us the scriptures and giving us some very practical applications for our life. I would be interested in hearing what some of you thought.

Take the time to post some of your thoughts on the comment section of this post over the next week. Some of your insights might very well encouage the rest of us too.

Darwin and the Church

Darwin's theory of evolution has impacted our society immensely. It has also had a negative impact on the church. In fact there have been many people who have walked away from Christ and turned to atheism as a direct result of a belief in the theory of Darwin. It is difficult in some churches to talk about this issue because many feel very strongly about evolution. It is nearly impossible to talk about it in the public arena.

Below is a trailer of a new movie that looks at this very thing. The film is not about the Christian/Biblical view of creation but about the debate between evolutionists and those who support intelligent design (I.D.). Man scientists who disagree with Darwin have lost jobs, been ridiculed and often expelled from the scientific community. The movie asks the question "where is the freedom of speech and ideas".

I would encourage you to look for this film, to watch it, take your kids to it and ask yourself why is this so important for our society, but more importantly why is this so important for the church.

Baptism

This past Sunday a member of our group was baptized in obedience to Christ. No doubt her parents, grandparents, family and friends were excited to celebrate with her this exciting event in her life.

I then began to wonder how many other men and women in our group have not acted in obedience and participated in the act of Baptism. It is easy to make baptism a subjective, optional "rite" of the church. It is true that we are not saved by baptism, at least not the water kind. It is true that the baptism does not wipe away sin (again, water!). But there are some important truths that it does teach and show us.

1. Being baptized reminds us of death. When you are dipped in the water you symbolically saying I am dead in my sin.

2. When the pastor brings you out, it is showing that now you are raised in newness of life and you will be raised fully at the return of Christ.

3. The pastor pulls you up showing that it is not in your strength that you are brought to spiritual life but through the power of God.

4. When you are baptized you are preaching the gospel and bringing glory to God

5. When you are baptized you are living in obedience to God's word.

So often many will appeal to scripture and say "I don't have to be baptized or I am not ready to be baptized or I disagree with you on the issue of baptism"

We wouldn't treat other commands in the Bible this way. Jesus does command us to be baptized. Imagine if I told you that as a believer I am just not mature enough to live in obedience to the commands of Christ to be a one woman man. Or what if I said that I just don't agree that lying is really that wrong. Most of you would think I was off my rocker. But that is essentially what we are doing with baptism. We are sinning and then we try to minimize the sin.

We are commanded to be baptized in obedience to Scripture. We are commanded to follow in the example of Christ. Perhaps some of us who have been believers many years should now begin to ponder our lack of obedience when it comes to baptism. Perhaps we should seek forgiveness at the cross for avoiding this important act. And perhaps even today we should move forward in faith by publicly proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and acknowledging our union with Him through Baptism.

We Hate Death

Today, if you are like my family, you are dealing with the reality of death, the death of a little child. I thought much of the morning about what I would say to my oldest daughter (7) when I tell her that someone she knows and prays for has died. Perhaps you are wondering what you should say to your children, whether it is about the death of a child or the death of a grandparent. Here are some things I shared with my daughter and that you may well consider as well.

1. Be honest - I did not beat around the bush and try and sugar coat the reality...I told her your friend died of cancer.

2. Rely on the Sovereignty of God - it is tempting in situations like this to tell a child that "God couldn't stop this" or "God didn't want this to happen" or some other such notion. But that is not scriptural at all. Use this as an opportunity to teach your children something about God's character. I told my girl "We don't understand why God took Krista out of this world, but we have to trust Him. He is God. He is loving and good and even though we don't have all the answers we know that God does and we have to trust Him". Children can understand that. Even adults need to be reminded of this important truth. God is in Control!!

3. Stick to God's truth - it is tempting when pets die to say they all go to heaven. It is nice to say that all people become angels and make everything sound so fairy tale like. Don't make up things. People either go to heaven or people go to hell. There is no middle ground. Stick to what the Bible says and rely on that. You will be teaching your children more than you realize.

4. Point to the affects of Sin - we reminded our daughter that sin leads to cancer and diabetes and death. We hate death because it is evident that we live in a world of sin where Jesus Christ is not ruling as King just yet with all things under His feet. We reminded her that we all sin and that because of sin we deserve to die.

5. Allow your children to express sadness - Show your children through real concern that you are sad and that it is ok for them to be sad. It is ok to cry. It is even ok for parents to cry. Why? Because we hate death and we long for Jesus return.

6. Point to the Cross - remind your children that we all sin, we all will some day die and we will have to give an account for our sin. Tell them again of this wonderful Jesus who dies on the cross for sinners and that if we are united with him through faith, our sins will be paid for by his blood. Remind them that life is short and that we might not have tomorrow and that today is the day of salvation. Encourage them that he promise of scripture is that all those who are found in Christ will one day be rescued from this world of sin and death into a new earth where there will be no sin, no sadness, no cancer, no diabetes and no death.

7. Tell them you love them - a song by Casting Crowns reminds of this. The song talk about comforting parent who just lost a child. the song says, Love them Like Jesus;carry them to Him; His yoke is easy, his burden is light. You don't need the answers to all of lifes questions; just know that He loves them and stay by their side...What a wonderful song. Tell you chidren You love them. Tell them Jesus loves them. Pray for them. We shed many tears today in the car after we left the hospital. I put my little girl on my lap and told her I had something very sad tell her...and I cried...and I hugged her...and I pointed her to Christ. After all, I may be a good dad, but in instances like this she needs an AWESOME GOD not a sinful father.

Your children are aware of evil and death in the world. They don't need you to give answers to all of life's problems. They don't need you to try and protect God from his own sovereignty. They don't need you to tell them what they want to hear.

No, they need the Gospel. We all do. We need to be encouraged that one day there will be graves of 70 year old men who fell down stairs, 80 year old women whose bodies shut down, 40 year old men who died of heart attacks, 17 year old girls who died in car wrecks, 8 year old children who die of Cancer and babies who never saw the light of day; graves that will explode with rejoicing as Jesus Christ appears on the Horizon and calls those who have trusted in faith out of their graves and they will be transformed in an instant with glorified bodies to live for eternity with their crucified and risen Savior.

I hate death. You hate death. Jesus has defeated death. And he is coming back to end it once and for all.

The Great Pumpkin

Resurrection Sunday was celebrated around the world. Not only do we think of the events from 2000 years ago of a crucified Jesus who was dead and lifeless; and a Jesus was was brought back to life and walked right out of that tomb; but we also are reminded of the promise of Christ to return and to claim his people for himself. One of the most beloved comic strip artists saw the message of the Christmas story and believed. But he never appeared to embrace the bloody, crucified Jesus or the Jesus resurrected in glory. In the end, just like the great pumpkin, he was left disappointed and discouraged over wasting his time following a religion that will leave you unsatisfied in the end. If you want, you can watch this popular but sad story. Realizing that unlike the great pumpkin, Jesus does not disappoint, Jesus is not a waste of time and Jesus will come, not just bring gifts for girls and boys but bringing a restoration of this world and the salvation of for his brothers.