"Tragedy in Texas: Christian Testimony in the Face of Evil"

You have probably heard about the mass shooting at a church in Texas over the weekend. Here is a helpful article by Dr. Al Mohler which gives us a Christian perspective on it.

Here is part of his conclusion

This throws us back on the deepest resources of biblical Christianity. This pushes us back to understanding the attributes of God as revealed in Scripture, the attributes of his power and the attributes of his morality, his greatness and his goodness, his justice, his righteousness, and his mercy. We are also reminded of the fact that the only answer Christians have is the answer of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the only promise of making sense out of nonsense. The gospel is the only assurance of the victory of good over evil. The gospel of Christ is the only promise of meaning and significance and satisfaction, not only in this life, but in the life to come.

Keeping God's Word: Our Happy Duty

This past Sunday I preached on Psalm 119:1-16 (here is a link to it in case you missed it). We have a joyful duty to live in line with God's Word. It is a joy because we love God. It is duty because God commands it and it takes work to know what he says. Specifically, we ought to memorize and meditate on Scripture. Here are a few resources to encourage, challenge, and help you in this joyful work.

• Here is a link to a quote by Charales Spurgeon on Bleeding Bibline
• Fighter Verses. This is an app produced by Desiring God to help in memorizing and meditating on Scripture. You can find the app on itunes or the google play store. 
• The Topical Memory System by Navigators. When I was in college, this is what I used to memorize a bunch of good verses. 
• Don Whitney has a one page article listing and explaining 17 methods to help you in meditating on Scripture.

Do you have any apps, articles, or practices that you recommend? If so, share them in the comments section. 

Some Articles for the 500 Anniversary of the Reformation

Yesterday, we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Here are a few articles to help you reflect on it and enjoy it.

• 5 Passages [of Scripture] to Read on Reformation Day
• Martin Luther: Here He Stood by John Piper
• The Runaway Nun by Kristen Tabb

Audio

• You also might enjoy listening to the 31 episodes of "5 Minutes in Church History" in the month of October (devoted to the Reformation). 
• Roman Catholics & Protestants: Commonalities and Differences by Greg Allison (this one is longer a bit more academic, but I found it helpful)

Why Join a Local Church in College

Becoming a member of a local church is important. Occasionally I like to link to an article on the topic - mainly because it is such an important issue which is not often well understood. Here is an article at the Gospel Coalition site entitled "Fellow College Students, Please Join a Local Church." 

Below are his main points, but the whole thing is short and worth a read.

1. To be watched over by church leaders. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:17).
2. To be discipled by older church members. “Older women likewise are . . . to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled” (Titus 2:3–5).
3. To build up the church. “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–13).
4. To learn to love those Jesus loved. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25).

Resources for Studying the Bible: Arching & Tracing

I mentioned at Bible study last week two helpful methods for analyzing the connections between sentences, especially in passages that are teaching (rather than story). Though these principles work for that too.

Here is a link to John Piper describing "arching." You can see him doing something similar (more like what we are doing on Thursday nights though) in his "look at the book" series of videos. In these, he breaks down a passage while you watch (ie. does something similar to COMA).

"Tracing" is similar to arching, and is what I learned in seminary. Here is a link to information about that (this article is more technical and might take a lot of mental energy, but the payoff is well worth the investment). This is a very helpful thing to learn, especially if you plan to teach others in a more formal setting.

If you don't have time to pursue these avenues now, why not set a reminder to revisit them in the summer? And, why not check out the "look at the book" videos now? They are easy to watch and you will learn a lot about how to better study the Bible (hopefully Thursday nights are helping with this too).

"10 Sure Marks of Humility"

Humilty is one of those things we often see the need of but have trouble wrapping our mind around. Just saying, "I need to grow in humility," often does not translate to true growth in humility. I have found, in my life, that true, biblical change only occurs as I repent specifically rather than in generalities.

Tim Challies, a Christian blogger, recently went through the book A Godly Man's Picture, which is by the puritan Thomas Watson. He helpfully summarizes the main points of some sections, and one post summarizes some marks of humility. I list the headings below, and if you are looking to grow in humility, you might find it helpful to look at his article.

1. A humble person thinks little of himself. [though don't mistake this for self-pity which is a form of pride - see my post on self-pity here].
2. A humble person thinks better of others than of himself.
3. A humble person has a low assessment of his spiritual disciplines.
4. A humble person complains about his heart, not his circumstances.
5. A humble person praises God in times of trouble.
6. A humble person magnifies Christ.
7. A humble person accepts reproof for sin.
8. A humble person is content to be eclipsed by others.
9. A humble person accepts the condition God sees best for him.
10. A humble person will stoop to the lowest person and lowest tasks.

For more help in specifically fighting pride and growing in humility, you might find Stuart Scott's booklet "From Pride to Humility" helpful. He lists specific manifestations of pride and humility. 

Why We Value the Sunday Evening Service

The following is a letter sent by the elders to our congregation reflecting on the value of our Sunday evening gathering.

It seems as though the Sunday Evening service, in many churches, is going the way of the dodo (ie. dead dead). As the pastors of this church body, we wanted to express why we value our Sunday evening service with the hope that these sentiments will resonate with you or help you develop new found love for the Sunday evening service. Of course, our ultimate aim is that we not simply love a service, but that we, as a church, aim to glorify God and to experience His grace in all we do together. 

What is the purpose of the Sunday evening service? 

There are several different things that happen in the life of our church family each week and they all serve a slightly different purpose. Perhaps a quick overview would be most helpful.

• The Sunday school hour and mid-week Bible studies serve to equip us as we learn to be better students of God’s Word and glean the fruit of greater trust and obedience to God. 
• Our worship service is the gathering of the whole body, made up of all its diverse members, to join our hearts, voices, and minds in worshiping God by singing, praying, and hearing His Word. It is the main feeding time for the flock. 
• Sunday evenings are a time for us to pray together, to discuss the sermon we heard in the morning, and to receive updates on missionaries, unreached people groups, and local outreach ministries. Additionally, we have a program for preschool through elementary age children with the goal of teaching them foundational theological truth at a child’s level. 

Each of the meetings, services, and studies serve a purpose, and we value all of them. As Shepherds we believe the priority is the Sunday morning time of worship. However, since the evening service is the one that often gets overlooked, we’d like to focus on why we value it with the hope of shepherding us to see its benefits and joyfully participate in it.

Reasons we value the Sunday evening service

1. It is the time we have set aside for praying together. It is such a joy to hear other brothers and sisters thanking God, praying for one another, and praying for the needs of our world. We see the early church was marked by praying together and can imagine that it was not a burden but a joy for them too (Acts 2:42, 4:23-ff; 1 Tim. 2). 
2. It is an opportunity to fulfill the command to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice (Rom. 12:15). This can and should happen one-on-one, on Sunday mornings, and at Bible studies too. But Sunday evenings provide a great opportunity for this as we are gathering primarily to pray together. We can thank God for engagements, births, and job promotions. We can ask for his mercy for those facing loneliness, losses, and trials (1 Cor. 12:26).
3. It is a great chance to interact with the sermon we heard. Sermons are the main feeding of our souls each week. Rather than having another teaching time (in addition to Sunday school, a Bible study, and the sermon) the elders wanted to provide a chance for us to digest the rich feast of God’s Word we just had during the worship service. We want to be doers of the word. Additionally, this allows an opportunity to ask questions and gain new insights together.
4. It is another time for fellowship. The more often we see each other and interact, the better the chances are that we will be able to move past merely socializing (which is good) to fellowship (encouraging one another in our walk with God).
5. As Christians, we want to be with fellow believers as often as possible. This has always been a mark of God’s people (Psalm 16:3, Acts 2:42, 46).  
6. It helps us keep Sunday set apart for special enjoyment in God. For centuries, Christians have referred to Sunday as “the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10). Not that this is the only day that is His. Rather it is a day uniquely set aside to have more focused attention on worshiping Him and on being with His people. Sunday evenings give us the other bookend to the Lord’s Day. Without it, Sunday could easily become a day like any other save a 90-minute block of worship.

Consider being part of the Sunday evening service

There are reasons it may be hard to come. For some, the drive is too much to do twice a day. Those with young children might also find it difficult to come (though we have purposely set the service to run from 5-6 p.m. with the goal of making it easier for those with young children to attend).  We do not want to imply that it is sinful to not attend on Sunday evenings. We simply want to express why we, as your pastors, value Sunday evenings and encourage you to develop the habit of gathering with us. It is a commitment for the elders to lead another service, but we believe it is worthwhile. May it continue to serve as a blessing to our church family.

In Christ,
The Elders