Monthly Archives: November 2014

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Let the Singing Begin

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Christmas is near and that means Advent songs are here.

The nostalgia of Christmas carols is nearly intoxicating to me. From today through December 25th a Christmas tune will never be far from earshot.

While my favorite Christmas carol varies from year to year my favorite band never wavers, I always tip my hat to the men of Future of Forestry. Their three Advent EPs (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3) are well worth your money and attention. To whet your appetite for their creative mastery and subtle brilliance check out a couple offerings below: an ancient anthem and a contemporary chorus.

JESU JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING

Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe (Jesu, joy of man’s desiring)
wie feste halt’ ich ihn (Holy wisdom, love most bright)
daß er mir mein Herze labe (Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring)
wenn ich krank und traurig bin (Soar to uncreated light)

Jesum hab’ ich, der mich liebet (Word of God, our flesh that fashioned)
und sich mir zu eigen giebet (With the fire of life impassioned)
ach drum laß’ ich Jesum nicht (Striving still to truth unknown)
wenn mir gleich mein Herze bricht (Soaring, dying round Thy throne)

THE EARTH STOOD STILL

A teenage girl and her soon-to-be
A simple trip far as they could see
The sky was clear and the hour serene
But did they know what the night would bring

Lonely hearts strung across the land
They’ve been waiting long for a healing hand
My heart was there and I felt the chill
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still

Shepherds stirred under starry skies
Tasting grace that would change their lives
The angels trembled and the demons did too
For they knew very well what pure grace would do.

The hope of the world and a baby boy
I remember Him well like I was there that night
My heart was there and I felt the chill
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still
Love came down and the earth stood still

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Thankful for Surprises

Thankful

Back in early June I spent a couple days at a cabin in the middle of Nowhere, TX for a period of what Spurgeon called “holy inaction and consecrated leisure.”

I’m not sure it’s a good thing to have measureables for holy inaction (is it truly “inaction” at that point?), but I nevertheless walked into the cabin with several goals in mind. One of them was settling the preaching calendar for the remainder of 2014.

CRUNCH TIME WAS COMING

At any given moment I usually have the next twelve months of sermons at IDC planned. We were due to finish the gospel of Mark at the end of June and the existing plan called for a series of summer sermons in Proverbs before turning to Genesis in the fall. For well over a year I was preparing those respective series, but as time went by I increasingly felt as though the Lord was leading elsewhere. My restlessness was largely due to shepherding conversations I’d had. Proverbs and Genesis would undoubtedly be profitable for us (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16), but I sensed they wouldn’t directly address the issues our congregation was facing at that moment.

My problem – and hence the indecision after months of pondering – was that I seemed incapable of articulating exactly what those very issues were. It was a strange place to be sure.

Clarity then came in an unexpected way.

A SOVEREIGN SURPRISE

JobOn my second morning in the middle of Nowhere I pulled up Feedly to read the morning’s blog posts and was immediately summoned to a post from Justin Taylor entitled, “The Richest, Most Moving, Most Deeply Cross-Centered and God-Glorifying Treatment of Job I Have Ever Read.” The post simply listed the endorsements from Christopher Ash’s forthcoming commentary on Job. The smashing and superlatives statements contained in the various endorsements steeled my gaze in a most certain way: I knew Job was the next book of the Bible we needed to study.

It was one of those moments of rare, immediate, and unexpected Spirit-wrought certainty.

As I prayed and meditated on the matter I realized what those “impossible to articulate” congregational matters were: 1) the sovereignty of God and 2) the suffering of God’s people. Our congregation was (and is) full of people falling headlong into one or both of these issues. Some were learning and leaning into the application of God’s sovereignty to their lives, others were going through seasons of pronounced difficult and pain.

Studies in Proverbs and Genesis would no doubt apply to those issues, but Job confronts them with peculiar power.

And so we’ve spent the last few months studying Job and his story of suffering has indeed confronted us with peculiar power. I’ve never before received consistency of comments like, “That was exactly what I needed to hear,” and, “I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a sermon series.” Job has been a sovereign word for multiple seasons of suffering.

And so I’m thankful for sovereign surprises.

How has God surprised you with His sovereign care this year?

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3 Cautions About Illustrations

Illustrations in Preaching

Two weeks ago I ransacked some well-known preaching books to see what they had to say about sermon illustrations. My summary conviction was: illustrations are dangerously valuable. It’s a paradox preachers need to feel.

That sermon illustrations are valuable is a point which needs little convincing. Preachers and congregations alike know how powerful and helpful a well-timed illustration can be. When delivered rightly and thoughtfully illustrations amplify the truth of Scripture and bring it home to the hearers hearts.

Yet, I’m not sure many of us preachers give due consideration to the dangerous nature of illustration. How many stories and anecdotes can you remember from sermons of days gone by? Probably quite a few. But can you remember what given truth the illustration was illuminating? I can’t, and I’m pretty sure my experience isn’t unique. Martyn Lloyd-Jones captured this dangerous nature well when he said, “Stories and illustrations are only meant to illustrate truth, not to call attention to themselves.” He’s absolutely right, but making good on his counsel is dangerously difficult.

As I’ve thought about this dangerous value over the years I’ve settled on three cautionary statements to guide the preacher’s approach to illustration in preaching.

3 GUIDELINES AND GUARDRAILS

Don’t overillustrate. Last fall, for a seminary class on preaching, I had to review a series of sermons from several popular preachers. Among the many things that stood out to me was how many of the sermons felt bloated with illustrations. To make sure it wasn’t just my faulty perception I used an “Illustration Timer” to see how many minutes of the sermon was occupied with illustration. What I found was the average preacher was spending 45-55% of his sermon sharing stories or anecdotes. Now, I don’t think it’s wise to stipulate a certain percentage of a sermon that total illustration time can’t cross. But I think we can all agree that a 40 minute sermon ought not have 22 minutes of illustration. At that point we are asking our congregation’s soul to survive on Illustrative Cool Whip and not the red meat of God’s word.

Don’t overcomplicate. By overcomplicate I mean that our illustrations ought to get to the point clearly and quickly. It doesn’t seem wise to give a five minute story filled with many humorous – yet ultimately meaningless – puns before getting to the actual illustrative point. Such overcomplication runs the risk of overclouding not only the biblical truth to be amplified but also the illustrative connection as well. Let’s trim the illustrative fat from our stories.

This is one thing we can learn from Jesus’ tactics in illustration. His illustrations are regularly pithy and pointed. “But,” one might say, “what about the parables? Aren’t many of them examples of Jesus offering a long story to make a short, simple biblical point?” We would do well here to remember Jesus had a unique, prophecy fulfilling, purpose in teaching through parables: to harden already hard hearts (cf. Matt. 13:10-17; Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10). As our Lord said in Matthew 13:13, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

One group of preachers I think we can glean much from on this point are the Puritans. Many people don’t realize how keen the Puritans were on illustration – plain illustration. They were masters of scattering short similes and metaphors throughout their sermons, and the simplicity never derails the exposition. I’ve spent a good portion of this year with George Swinnock and he embodies the Puritan model of plain simplicity in illustration. Spurgeon said of Swinnock, “[He] had the gift of illustration largely developed, as his works prove . . . they served his purpose, and made his teaching attractive.” Thomas Watson and Thomas Brooks are also wonderful, and probably more accessible, examples of not overcomplicating illustration.

Don’t overestimate. This one, for me at least, is the most important. We dare not overestimate the power contained in illustration. There is no inherent supernatural, soul-shaping power in our stories. But there is power in the gospel as it is the “power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). There is power in every word of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:14-17) as it is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). We would do well to return to the apostolic model and, like Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:2-5, decide “to know nothing among our flock except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Let us be with our people “in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and our speech and our message be not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that their faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” Not overestimating the power of illustration is helped when we don’t underestimate the power of God’s Spirit working through God’s word.

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Recent Reads

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

9780525954149mPrayer: Experience Awe and Intimacy with God by Tim Keller. The Manhattan Man once said, “If you wait to write until you are older, the writing will go much faster, because you will have reams of material and many layers of thought about a lot of subjects and texts. Writing a book in your 50s will go twice as fast and be twice as good as if you try the same book in your 30s. It’s just good stewardship to wait.” Keller has modeled his own wisdom and his books are always the “twice as good” for it. He published Ministries of Mercy in the late 80s and waited twenty years to publish a second book. Now, the man is a machine, annually churning out substantial volume. And the Keller machine just produced one of the best books on prayer you can read.

Based on early reviews and commendations my expectations for Prayer were sky high. I was a bit fearful that my hopes were unrealistic and would inevitably be somewhat dashed. But, God be praised, I wasn’t even close to being disappointed. Keller has done something almost magical in this book as he manages to strike all the right balances on the timeless subject at hand. He is forcefully clear about the duty of prayer, joyfully winsome about the privilege of prayer, reverently affectionate about the awe-filled experience of prayer, and immanently useful on the daily practice of prayer. The work abounds with piercing insights from Keller and all the saints of old upon which he calls. One needs only to read the chapter on praising God in prayer to see how Keller enlivens a most basic – and often assumed – aspect of communion with God. This may just be the best book I’ve read all year.

EJECEncountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture: Reading the Bible Critically in Faith by David Crump. David Crump, a professor in the Religion Department of Calvin College, has a simple purpose in this volume: “My goal in this book is to secure thorough integration of heart, mind, and soul by keeping first things first. . . . the basic issues in this arena are epistemological and spiritual. How can a person come to know God?” While that purposeful question has universal application, Crump’s volume is almost exclusively aimed at scholars wrestling with the implications of higher criticism. Crump wants Christians scholars to see that they don’t need to surrender intellectual curiosity or critical thinking in study, but they must “perceive and evaluate academic subjectivity in light of the subjectivity of faith.” A deep affinity for Kierkegaardian existentialism, sympathies for the New Perspective on Paul, catering to higher criticism of the gospel narratives, and a near absence of focus on the Spirit’s role in faith make this a curious book. For I agree with his destination – faith must govern our academic study, not the other way around – but I find those winding roads on which he travels are ones I would not trod.

9781939946713mMindscape: What to Think About Instead of Worrying by Tim Witmer. David Powlison says there are three problems “so characteristic of human nature, and come in so many variants, that if we learn to face them in our own lives and in the lives of others, we will cover the majority of ministry needs.” Those three problems are: anxiety, anger, and escapism. You don’t have to minister to others very long before you see how wise Powlison is on this point. In my church, anxiety is one of the most prevalent “respectable sins.” Tim Witmer’s Mindscape aims to answer the issue of worry a simple two-fold structure: 1) briefly outline the problem of worry, and 2) show how Philippians 4:8 provides a new “operating system” for the mind. The reader is wisely exhorted to put the mind’s attention on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” I wish Witmer gave a more sustained diagnosis of the spiritual roots undergirding worry, and the book could – and probably should – be significantly shorter (the content often feels redundant). Nevertheless, this is one worth meditative reading for anyone who struggles to slay the sin of worry.

9780802840073mThe Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World by David Wells. For over fifteen years Wells was occupied with a publishing project deconstructing western evangelicalism. Al Mohler called Wells’ No Place for Truth (1993) “the bomb that exploded on the evangelical playground.” That book was followed by God in the Wasteland (1994), Losing Our Virtue (1998), and Above All Earthly Powers (2005). Running through these winsome, yet devastating, critiques were five main doctrinal themes: truth, God, self, Christ, and the church. Published in 2008, The Courage to Be Protestant represents Wells’ attempt to summarize the previous four works and their main doctrinal themes. Therefore, anyone familiar with Wells and his evangelical critique won’t find anything new, just a fresh recapturing of his sobering assessment. If you haven’t encountered Well before this may just be the best place to start.

1579102573mPerspectives on the Word of God: An Introduction to Christian Ethics by John Frame. In 1988 Trinity Evangelical Divinity School invited John Frame to deliver that year’s Kenneth Kantzer Lectures. The previous year saw Frame publish The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, the first volume in his Theology of Lordship Series. Frame’s three Kantzer lectures presented a few main theses from the eventual Lordship volumes on The Doctrine of the Word of God and The Doctrine of the Christian Life. So Perspectives functions as something like super-short study guide on Frame’s theological method (tri-perspectivalism) and how he applies it to the word of God and ethics. If you’ve ever wanted a quick introduction to Frame’s love of triads this is a good place to start.

9780976758266mWhen Sinners Say “I Do”: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey. My wife and I just wrapped up premarital counseling with a young couple in our church and When Sinners Say “I Do” was a small part of our weekly discussion. Harvey does a good job applying the gospel to all matters of marriage, but he often spends the majority of each chapter in telling stories and anecdotes. So I wonder if the book wouldn’t be served by cutting some of those in order to more clearly amplify the rich biblical teaching he offers. His final chapter (“When Sinners Say Goodbye”) on marriage in light of eternity is superb. All in all, When Sinners Say “I Do” is a solid resource to make available in your church.

SRSycamore Row by John Grisham. The first “grown up” author I read as a young teenager was John Grisham. His southern-set legal thrillers filled many late night moments. In time I moved on to other authors and genres, but Grisham has always maintained something of a sentimental place in my heart. When I heard one of his recent novels was a sequel to the blockbuster A Time to Kill I knew it was time to return to Ford County, Mississippi after an absence of almost two decades. Set three years after the Carl Lee Hailey trial, Sycamore Row finds lawyer Jake Brigance caught up in another tense, racially-charged trial. This one isn’t about murder, but Jake’s probation of a holographic will written by a rich local citizen named Seth Hubbard. Just before he committed suicide Hubbard sent Jake the will and left 90% of his estate to his black housekeeper. The ensuing thrills are somewhat predictable, but oh so satisfying.

Click here to find other entries in the Recent Reads series.

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Clinging Contentment

Sufficient Word

In his excellent introduction to the doctrine of Scripture Kevin DeYoung suggests the group most likely to struggle with or reject the sufficiency of Scripture is the church. I think he’s right on.Whether it’s traditionalism, individualism, pragmatism, or experientalism, there are innumerable threats to our belief that God’s word is enough.

Is God’s word sufficient for your life and ministry in Christ?

Just yesterday I was with a group of godly pastors in my county thinking about the sufficient of Scripture. Much of the conversation revolve around practical implications for our ministries if we confess God’s word to be true. Two immediately came to my mind:

  1. Because God’s word is enough we cling to it.
  2. Because God’s word is enough we are content with it.

WE CLING TO GOD’S WORD

Every passing decade impresses a dominant passing fad of pastoral power on gospel ministers. The seeker-sensitive movement gave us Christianized worldliness to attract the world, forgetting the world has never loved the King over this world (1 John 3:13). If we offered enough programs, events, and excellence in buildings and on-stage performance, then we would have real power in witness. The post-modern Emergents swung back the pendulum of power in their promotion of story, community, and dialogical preaching. The real power would come when pastors were “authentic.” Remove any remaining remnants of institutionalism, lower the lights, and bring in some couches. Sit down rather than stand when you ascend to the sacred desk and, armed with a Bible and requisite cup of java, converse with your people about struggles and doubt, not sound doctrine.

The latest fad of all things “gospel-centered” has a peculiar power to it. After all, the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation.” But one wonders if we’ve emptied “gospel” of its biblical meaning in our proliferation of its adjectival use that the word itself now often functions as a “shibboleth” in modern evangelicalism. As long as you say “gospel” or “gospel-centered” enough, whether or not you should do so from the given text, you have a ticket for power.

Each of these movements undoubtedly has aspects of wisdom and is worthy of emulation . . . to a point. It seems to me that our tendency to love movements more than local churches creates pastors who are linked to 7,500-watt portable generator. The seeker-sensitive and Emergent movements have all but petered out. Will it happen to the “gospel-centered” generation? Probably. Movements, like portable generators, only last for a time and can only power so much. All the while a hydroelectric power station lies at our very fingertips: the word of God.

From whence does pastoral power come? The Lord Jesus Christ. As the great apostle said the to Colossians in 1:28-29, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (emphasis added). And how does he powerfully work His energy into His men? Through His word and Spirit.

And so united to Christ by faith, men in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, we cling to God’s word in our praying, preaching, and pastoring. There is no power without it. We keep the Spirit’s sword always by our side, but we don’t merely leave it in the scabbard. We regularly and relentlessly wield the word of God as we do the work of God in making disciples of all nations.

WE ARE CONTENT WITH GOD’S WORD

Because Christ is all, the word of Christ must mean everything to the church of Christ. It is our very life. And so we are content with it’s sufficient power.

All through the Bible we see that when God gives life, He does so through the power of his word. In Genesis 1 we find God creating, giving life to all things, by speaking them into existence with his powerful word. Later on in Exodus 20 we find God, through His word, speaking the nation of Israel into existence. Then there is the stunning vision in Ezekiel 37 of God giving new life to his people after their exile in Babylon. The prophet sees bones lying in the dust and God tells him to speak. Ezekiel then says:

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone . . . and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (Ezekiel 37:7, 10)

God’s word, spoken through Ezekiel, brings dead bones to life. The Old Testament is clear: God’s people receive life through God’s word.

We see the same thing in the New Testament. Indeed Scripture’s teaching about God’s life-giving Word finds its consummation in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. John writes at the beginning of his gospel,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life. (John 1:1, 3-4)

In the Word was life! It is through Jesus Christ – the incarnate Word of God – that we are brought from death to life and “born again” by God’s power. Paul makes the same point in Romans 10: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” he says (Romans 10:17). And Hebrews 1 says, “he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The Bible continually announces that God’s Word brings life to everything; that is a theme on which our soul is lifted from the dust of this world in which we live.

Notice how prevalent this idea is in Psalm 119:

  • 119:37 – “Give me life in your ways.”
  • 19:50 – “Your promise gives me life.”
  • 119:93 – “Your precepts . . . have given me life.”
  • 119:107 – “Give me life, O Lord, according to your word!”
  • 119:54 – “Give me life according to your promise!”
  • 119:56 – “Give me life according to your rules.”

It is our life. Thus, it is enough.

And so may we love it with contented delight, desire, and dependence. Cling to and be content with God’s sufficient word, for it will do all. Luther’s famous and eloquent depiction of the sufficient power of God’s word is an appropriate way to finish the meditation. He wrote,

Take me, for example. I opposed indulgences and all papists, but never by force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s Word: otherwise I did nothing. And then, while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip of Amsdorf the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing: the Word did it all. Had I wanted to start trouble…. I could have started such a little game at Worms that even the emperor wouldn’t have been safe. But what would it have been? A mug’s game. I did nothing: I left it to the Word.

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Preaching Sanctification

As I’m sure you know, over the last few years a largely constructive debate on sanctification has taken place in the broader New Calvinism sub-culture of American evangelicalism.

Many helpful articles, blog posts, and books have considered the issue biblically, historically, and practically for church members. But if anything has received small mention I think it would be discussion on how pastors should wisely labor for the holiness of their congregation.

At this year’s Together for the Gospel conference one panel decided to take up the matter of “Preaching Sanctification.” The lively dialogue is full of wisdom and warmth. Here is the video with timestamps of some pertinent questions underneath. Not only is this a helpful conversation, it’s also a model of a panel done well.

CHOICE QUESTIONS

  • What are the biblical motivations for pursuing holiness? (2:20)
  • What do you do when a church member is struggling with pornography? (10:00)
  • How can pastors walk in discernment when counseling church members unto sanctification? (11:36)
  • Why is it that duty, obligation, and “effortful progressive sanctification” is now immediately viewed as legalistic? (14:10)
  • How has antinomianism crept up on the church in the past? How is it doing so now? (23:38)
  • How would you define legalism? (25:20)
  • How much effort can you give to bearing fruit before it becomes legalism? (26:34)

CHOICE QUOTES

  • “I kind of want have a moratorium that we can only use the word ‘legalism’ once a month and then we’ve got to get it right.” – Thomas
  • “Legalism is a problem . . . but the answer to legalism isn’t antinomianism. The answer to legalism is Christ. The answer to antinomianism is Christ.” – Thomas
  • “There seems to be a lost ethic of hard work [in our culture today].” – Chandler
  • “Grace is [now] felt mainly as leniency.” – Piper
  • “You don’t become a good tree by bearing good fruit. That would be legalism. Start bearing good fruit and He’ll admit you into the tree heaven. That’s legalism. You were made a good tree by sovereign grace in Christ alone through faith alone. ” – Piper
  • “Do you think sometimes when people use the word legalism they just mean, ‘That’s inconvenient?'” – Thomas
    • “I totally do. In fact, I think that’s why people break the speed limit.” – Piper
    • “Now we’re gettin’ real.” – DeYoung
  • “Anyone who is indifferent to sanctification is indifferent to Christ.” – DeYoung
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The Heart of Prayer

The Heart of Prayer

Question 185: How are we to pray? Answer: We are to pray with an awful apprehension of the majesty of God, and deep sense of our own unworthiness, necessities, and sins; with penitent, thankful, and enlarged hearts; with understanding, faith, sincerity, fervency, love, and perseverance, waiting upon him, with humble submission to his will.

So goes The Larger Catechism’s, well, rather large answer to a simple question. But it is oh so good.

I long to have that kind of heart in prayer.

HEARING THE HEART IN PRAYER

The Scriptures are full of examples of what faithful prayer looks like in content, but the distance of innumerable centuries means we don’t know what those prayers sounded like. Sure, we can hypothesize. The Westminster Assembly give a good thesis above. How I would love to hear the heart of the great apostle, the prophets and kings of old, and our Lord Jesus as they prayed to the Father. What warmth we would have heard.

More important than what is prayed is how one prays. The Pharisees surely could have cleaned the floors of righteousness with their prayers of dogmatic eloquence. Yet, I’m sure what we would have heard was cold dogmatism emanating from their cold heart.

How’s your heart in prayer? Warm in God or cold towards God?

In his recent book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God Tim Keller offers numerous stories to illustrate how Christians throughout the centuries have struggled and succeeded in prayer. Three anecdotes in particular stood out and challenged me to consider my heart’s ordinary disposition in prayer.

WHAT JOHN MILLER SAID

The first offers a sagacious and long lasting aside from Jack Miller. Keller writes,

A pastor and friend of mine, Jack Miller, once said he could tell a great deal about a person’s relationship with God by listening to him or her pray. ‘You can tell if a man or woman is really on speaking terms with God,’ he said. My first response was to make a mental note to never pray aloud near Jack again. I’ve had years to test out Jack’s thesis. It is quite possible to become florid, theologically sound, and earnest in your public prayers without cultivating a rich, private prayer life. You can’t manufacture the unmistakable note of reality that only comes from speaking not toward God but with him. The depths of private prayer and public prayer grow together. (23-24)

I wonder how often I pray toward God but not with God.

HOW JOHN MURRAY PRAYED

A second story about John Murray illuminates the power of sincere and reverent prayer. Keller says,

A teacher of mind, Edmund P. Clowney, once told me that he went to one of his own teachers, John Murray, to discuss a private matter. Murray offered to pray for him, and when he did, the power of the prayer was stunning. Murray’s address combined intimate familiarity with a sense of God’s absolute majesty. The presence of God was instantly palpable. It was clear that Murray knew both the nearness of God as well has his transcendence. . . . As encouraging as this experience was for Ed, it was also deeply convicting. Just hearing Murray pray to God revealed to him that his own prayers were wooden, formal, mechanical. He knew little of familiar conversation with God in his presence. (73-74)

Have you ever heard such awe-filled familiarity at the throne of grace? I long to have a soul saturated with fearful confidence in taking hold of God. How easy it is to resort to the meaningless drivel of common forms and familiar patterns.

WHAT LUTHER’S FRIEND HEARD

The final anecdote involves the legendary prayer life of Martin Luther.

Veit Dietrich, one of Luther’s friends, wrote: ‘There is not a day on which he does not devote at least three hours, the very ones most suitable for [work], to prayer. Once I was fortunate to overhear his prayer. Good God, what faith in his words! He speaks with the great reverence of one who speaks to his God, and with the trust and hope of one who speaks with his father and friend.’ (89)

May they say the same of us! God, give us faith and fear to come to You, our Father and Friend, during the best hours of our day.

If someone listened to your prayers, what would they hear about your heart?

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The Essence of a Man

“A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, and the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more.” – John Owen

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Short Books to Help Your Church

Church members and regular attenders alike often wonder about certain aspects of the Christian faith. One way pastors can help is to be ready in season and out of season to assist the curious or doubting soul. Another thing they can do is have a stockpile of resources available for anyone interested in further study.

The Good Book Company has quietly been publishing a useful series of books entitled, “Questions Christians Ask.” A quick perusal of the series’ current volumes reveals how strategic GBC is; these books definitely answer the ordinary questions Christians ask. The writing is clear, the theology is ecumenical, and the answers are biblically “to the point.”

You may want to have a few of these titles in your church’s bookstore.

CLEAR ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

9781908762313mIs God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions about Homosexuality, the Bible and Same-Sex Attraction by Sam Allberry. Christians, the church and the Bible seem to be out of step with modern attitudes towards homosexuality. Does the Bible prohibit gay marriage? How can we oppose people who are in love, and just expressing how they were made? Can God really be anti-gay? This short, readable book offers a positive and liberating way forward. It explains clearly and simply what we can say with certainty from the Bible about marriage, sexuality and same-sex attraction.

9781909559134Can I Really Trust the Bible? And Other Questions about Scripture, Truth and How God Speaks by Barry Cooper. The Bible makes big claims for itself. But do those claims stand up? Aren’t the stories just legends? Hasn’t the information been corrupted over time? Isn’t the Bible full of mistakes? And isn’t it culturally outdated? In this absorbing little book, Barry Cooper explores these questions—and many others—with warmth, wit and integrity.

9781908762306mDid the Devil Make Me Do It? And Other Questions about Satan, Demons and Evil Spirits by Mike McKinley. Many Christians are confused about the devil. When Jesus walked the earth, he cast out demons and had powerful encounters with the devil. But who exactly is the devil, and where did he come from? And what is he up to in the world today? This short, readable book explains clearly and simply what we can say with certainty from the Bible about Satan, demons and evil spirits.

9781908762320mWho on Earth Is the Holy Spirit? And Other Questions about Who He Is and What He Does by Tim Chester and Christopher de la Hoyde. Many people find it easy to understand about God and Jesus, but struggle to understand quite how and where the Holy Spirit fits into the picture. Who exactly is he? And how does he work in our lives? This short, readable book explains clearly and simply what we can say with certainty from the Bible about who the Holy spirit is, and how he is at work in the world today.

9781909559783mIs Forgiveness Really Free? And Other Questions about Grace, the Law and Being Saved by Michael Jensen. Forgiveness is a free gift—not earned or deserved—we are told. But then the Christian life seems to have a long list of “do’s” and “don’ts.” so is forgiveness really free—or is it al a cosmic con trick? This short, readable book, explains clearly and simply what the Bible, and Jesus himself, says about grace, the law and what it means to be saved.

9781909559158mHow Can I Be Sure? And Other Questions about Doubt, Assurance and the Bible by John Stevens. Many Christians experience times of doubt and uncertainty. At various times we can ask: “Does God love me?” “Am I really a Christian?”— and even “Is there a God at all?”! This short, readable book unpacks the difference between good and bad doubt, shows us where it comes from and how to deal with it in ourselves and others. It explains clearly and simply the liberating reality of what the Bible tells us about doubt, assurance and the Christian life.

9781908762337mWhat Happens When I Die? And Other Questions about Heaven, Hell and the Life to Come by Marcus Nodder. We all have questions about death. Despite the strong assurance the Bible gives us about life beyond the grave, Christians are often troubled by other questions. What will happen on the day of judgement? Will we have bodies in heaven? Will there be rewards? These short, readable book explains clearly and simply what we can say with certainty from the Bible about dying, death and life beyond the grave.

9781909559653mHow Will the World End? And Other Questions About The Last Things and The Second Coming of Christ by Jeramie Rennie. Christians believe that history is moving towards a dramatic conclusion—that one day Jesus Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. But there seem to be so many different views about how this will happen, and when it will take place. How can we make sense of it all? This short, readable book explains clearly and simply the liberating reality of what the Bible is actually saying about the return of Christ and the end of the world.

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True Christians Love the New Birth

1 John BSM

I’m sure you have a friend or family member who is a sucker for all things new. Maybe it’s the latest Apple product I know people whose love of new is seen in their clothes, others in their hair, others in their car, and still other in whichever new diet craze is sweeping the country.

What “new” things do you most love? Among the many things John is at pains to pass along in his first letter is the fact that true Christians love spiritual things more than worldly things. I often tell my church members – in shepherding conversations – that disciples of Christ should not be popularly known as a fanatic of worldly things; we should be known as a lover of the things of God. And one thing that 1 John says true Christians love is the new birth.

1 JOHN ON THE NEW BIRTH

Some of you might remember that dark night in Jerusalem when the religious leader Nicodemus covertly came to speak with Jesus. Nicodemus began the conversation by saying Jesus must come from God because no one could possibly do the things He was doing if God wasn’t with him. Do you know what Jesus said in response? It wasn’t, “Thanks,” or, “You got that right brother.” It was, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” You are not a Christian if you haven’t been born again. Let’s scan through this letter to see what John says about being born again, what he says about the new birth:

  • “You may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” (2:29)
  • “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.“ (3:9)
  • “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (4:7)
  • “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” (5:10)
  • “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (5:4)
  • “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (5:18)

2 REASONS TO LOVE THE NEW BIRTH

First, the new birth comes from sovereign power. Did you notice how every single time John mentions the new birth he does so by saying either “born of God” or “born of him”? “The new birth . . . is not a work of man. No human makes the new birth happen. No preacher and no writer can make it happen. You can’t make it happen yourself. God makes it happen. It happens to us, not by us.”1 If you aren’t sure you like this sovereign language of the new birth I would simply invite you to consider your own physical birth. Which one of us chose to be born? I mean I can’t even remember anything before the age of five or six. I may have cooperated with the process of my physical birth, but I did not control any of it. The continual testimony of Scripture is that God is the one who makes dead sinners alive. So this new birth comes from sovereign power and . . .

Second, the new birth contains sin-breaking power. Look again at some of those verses we just read:

  • “You may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” (2:29)
  • “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.“ (3:9)
  • “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (5:18)

The new birth breaks the power of sin. “He breaks the power of canceled sin, he sets the prisoner free.” Those chains of sin that shackled your soul before faith in Christ have been broken once and for all. You are no longer a slave to sin and Satan, but are now a slave to Jesus and righteousness (cf. Rom. 6:20-22).

In his excellent study of the new birth entitled Finally Alive, John Piper writes,

If your heartache is for your own personal change, or for change in your marriage, or change in your prodigal children, or in your church, or in the systemic structures of injustice, or in the political system, or in the hostilities among nations, or in the human degradation of the environment, or in the raunchiness of our entertainment culture, or in the miseries of the poor, or in the callous opulence of the rich, or in the inequities of educational opportunity, or in arrogant attitudes of ethnocentrism, or in a hundred areas of human need caused by some form of human greed– if your heart aches for any of these, then you should care supremely about the new birth.

There are other ways of shaping culture and guiding behavior. But none so deep. None so far-reaching. None so universally relevant. None so eternally significant.2

True Christians love the new birth. What we need to see from this second test is not only if we have truly been born again, but also if our faith is a living faith. There is a reason I call this the experiential test. Our life in Christ is not some cold lifeless truth, rather it is a faith that is lived and experienced. The new birth changes everything: our goals, desires, hopes, actions, thoughts, and motives are all unchangeably altered. I mean think about the family you’ve been born into and how life defining that experience has been. When my boys are born they not only receive a name, but an identity, a way of life, a worldview, and a stated purpose. How much greater it is to be born into God’s family! What love this ought to generate in our lives.

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  1. Piper, Finally Alive, 17. ↩
  2. Ibid, 191. ↩