FreeTruth

What is TFC's More of God?

Someone asked me this today; here's my answer:
During our More of God seasons (3-4 times per year) we encourage folks to alter their lives a bit by giving up a little food for all or just parts of a couple of days, so that they can give a bit more time and focus to prayer.

The fasting part of M.O.G. is optional. We don't mandate that people fast. But just becasue it's not mandated doesn't mean that it's unimportant. Congregational fasting shows unity in prayer and in a display that we all, together, desire God even more than food.

The prayer part of MOG shouldn't be viewed as optional (unless folks have other unavoidable stuff going on). TFC members really should join us in the two day season of prayer since in the Bible church leaders have the responsibility to call congregations together for seasons of prayer, and every believer needs to be a part of this at least on some occasions.

During the days of each More of God event, we encourage people to pray alone, with each other, and with their families more than they might normally. We suggest that they spend time praying for their families, their care groups, their church, their pastors, the various ministries of the church, the mission of the church, and unbelievers that they are trying to reach for Christ.

It all comes to a climax on the Friday PM at 7:00PM, when we gather to pray specifically for "more of God": more of His love, more of His power, more of His grace to live transformed lives, more of His Holy Spirit to give us spiritual gifts and power to edify each other and reach our world, more of His presence to change us and to change others through us.

This Friday time is normally a free flowing time, with no set agenda by the pastors. We simply start by singing (normally) and then pray and speak and share prophetic words of encouragement as God brings these all to mind. We don't want to manage God on these occasions; we want God to control and lead us.

There you have it!!

Labels: Church, Fasting, Prayer

It may sound strange but I've often said that the job of a pastor is not finished until his sheep all die, or he does; whichever comes first. He must labor for the souls, and spiritual safety and well-being of his flock until each sheep crosses the finish line and enters into heaven. Until then there can be no ease, no rest, no taking a life break.

In my devotions this morning I came across Numbers 32:18. The context is that the Israelites are about to take over the promised land, the inheritance promised by God. As that is kicking off, two tribes (Reuben and Gad) ask if they can settle just east of there. Moses isn't happy because it appears that they want to settle down and take their ease before the rest of their fellow Israelites enter the promised rest and ease of the land.

In response Reuben and Gad make this promise in Numbers 32:18--"We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance."

This is the way every Christian (not just every pastor) should view life. Life here and now is not about settling down into ease, rest, or retirement; it's about making sure that all the fellow Christians God has connected us to (beginning of course in our families and then in our local church) make it to heaven, their inheritance.

While we are certainly to take periodic Sabbath rests for spiritual and physical replenishment, there is to be no real ease until heaven. So long as I have brothers and sisters who are in the wilderness of this life, and struggling to make it in faith; so long as I have members of my body (the local church) who need encouragement and admonition and help and love and counsel and hope; so long as I have fellow spiritual travelers who have not yet entered their eternal rest, I cannot rest or settle or take my ease.

Rest will come in heaven. Eternity is the Christian's retirement plan. Until then I must labor and lay down my life in behalf of the people of God. And so must every single Christian. This is not for pastors only. It's for every parent, every care group leader, every care group member, every single member of every single church. Each of us is his or her brother's and sister's keeper.

So long as we have one brother or sister who needs encouragement to keep on keeping on against all the foes of body and spirit, we must fight and labor on in their behalf. Let none of us return to his home for rest until everyone of us has gained his inheritance.

Let there be ease only in eternity.

Labels: Church, Love, Servanthood

Here is part two of yesterday's blog by Jeff Purswell, based on an exposition of Hebrews 12. God bless you as you read it.

[In light of what we have seen] Think about the people with whom you serve, live, and worship. Have you fully grasped just what your local church is and what it’s doing on a Sunday morning? Your local church is one authentic, visible manifestation of the entire people of God for all time.

It is a part of the heavenly throng that even now is worshiping before the throne of God. And we get to be part of that!

Think about this gathering, which includes—

Angels. We are worshiping with creatures before whom we would be tempted to fall down in terror and worship, if we could see them.

The spirits of the righteous-made-perfect. Here are the heroes from Hebrews 11—Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and David—mighty men of God, mighty prophets who trusted God, so endued with power that they stopped lion’s mouths and put foreign armies to flight. We are worshiping with them.

Faithful saints. These men and women endured torture and refused deliverance if it meant compromise. They chose a stoning pit or a chopping block before they would deny Jesus. And if they survived, they joyfully embraced poverty, deprivation, and persecution. They feared God and they feared sinning more than they feared man—all so that they might receive something better. And when we worship, we join them before the throne of God, who remains “a consuming fire” (v. 29).

We come to Jesus. He is there, our mediator, whose sprinkled blood cleanses us from sin. His blood “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (v. 24). Abel’s blood cried out for judgment, but Jesus’s blood cries out for mercy.

Sunday Morning

So back to your home church this upcoming Sunday. When you enter and the music begins, what are you more aware of? Is it the song set? the musicians? the mix? Does the worship band wow you? Does the routine bore you?

Or do you perceive something beyond all this?

Your church is one authentic manifestation of the entire people of God that right now is worshiping before the throne of God. That is the reality of new covenant worship. And when we begin to wrap our minds around that, there springs to mind a thousand reasons to rejoice, to praise, and to sing; and to renounce flippancy, self-display, selfishness, superficiality, sloppiness, and thoughtlessness.

Before the God who is a consuming fire, we don’t shuffle in casually. We don’t demand our artistic preferences. We don’t merely gather with our friends. We don’t merely sing together. As the people of God, we enter into the very presence of God. Encountering God in this way is the very nature of the church. By definition, to be the church is to gather in God’s presence and to worship God together. And when we begin singing, we join the glorious worship that takes place unceasingly before the throne of God.

This is true regardless of how we feel, who leads worship, what songs we sing, or how we think worship went. There is something incredible happening on Sunday morning!

Be the church and go to church. Something eternal is going on in there.

Don’t miss it.

Friends how can we ever think of worship the same again?

Labels: Church, Worship

I came across the following piece yesterday and it was so good that I have to pass it along to you. It speaks to the reality of what we are about as the people of God when we gather for worship each Lord's Day.

The article is by Jeff Purswell, dean of the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors College. I'll be presenting it in two parts. The first is exegetical from Hebrews 12; the second more applicaation and wonder. Enjoy!

The other day I saw a sign that captured my attention—and deeply concerned me. It said—

“Don’t go to church. Be the church.”

Now, despite the element of truth (God’s people are the church), there are all kinds of things wrong with this statement. But behind the words is obviously someone’s disappointment (and possibly disillusionment) with organized Christianity. And although I’d guess that many Christians would reject this false choice, their attitude to Sunday gatherings of the church may reveal a similar apathy.

To fight such apathy, we all need a biblical perspective on what is taking place on Sunday—a perspective that can transform our attitude toward “going to church.” And it’s this perspective that the writer of Hebrews gives us when he describes the ongoing worship service we join when we gather to worship each Sunday.

Mount Sinai and Mount Zion

In Hebrews [12] the writer presents a striking contrast between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, between the experience of the people of God under the old covenant and their experience under the new covenant.

In verses 18–21 the writer recounts the gathering at Mount Sinai (as recorded in Exodus 19). After their deliverance from Egypt, God gathered his people and made a covenant with them. He constituted them as a nation, his very own people.

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”

Now look at the gathering at Mount Zion described in verses 22–24:

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

What a contrast.

At Mount Sinai everything served to emphasize the chasm between God and these people. At Mount Zion everything encourages us to come boldly into God’s presence. There, at Mount Sinai, the scene itself is frightening—fire, darkness, gloom. Here, at Mount Zion, is a gleaming city, the New Jerusalem, the place where God dwells with his covenant people.

At Mount Sinai the sounds are frightening—whirlwind, trumpet blast, unutterable words. At Mount Zion is the sound of exuberant and celebratory praise.

At Mount Sinai was a solemn gathering filled with fear. Here at Mount Zion is a joyful assembly of those whose names are forever written in the Lamb’s book of life.

There at Mount Sinai was a picture of the unapproachability of God’s holy presence. But here at Mount Zion is a picture of full access into the presence of God through the mediator Jesus Christ.

Now think about your church. Think about the people with whom you serve, live, and worship. Have you fully grasped just what your local church is and what it’s doing on a Sunday morning? Your local church is one authentic, visible manifestation of the entire people of God for all time.

It is a part of the heavenly throng that even now is worshiping before the throne of God. And we get to be part of that!

What do you think?

Labels: Church, Worship

Questioning Questions

There is no one way to do fellowship. The Bible presents many approaches to personal care for each other’s souls. One very effective method relies heavily on the use of questions. Now you may find yourself questioning the use of questions: “Is there a biblical precedent for this? How is this helpful? Will this feel oppressive and intrusive for the one being questioned?”

“Where Are You” Adam?
In the first ever personal ministry and counseling time (Genesis 3:9-13), we find God searching for Adam following Adam’s act of disobedience. As God approaches this hiding sinner (which describes all of us to some extent), He approaches him with questions, questions the answers for which God already knew.

God asks Adam a series of questions in order to give Adam an opportunity to come out of hiding and to see issues of his heart in ways more helpful than if God had simply come to Adam with a series of corrections or pieces of advice.

The use of questions to help people see the needs and issues of their hearts is a common biblical approach to personal care and correction.* It is not the only valid approach but it is an extremely effective one. One of its advantages (in contrast to a more informational and advice-giving approach) is that it allows people to hear their own thoughts and attitudes without having to be told them by others. In this way, under the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the process of conviction goes on more personally and directly.**

If you obtain my full booklet on this topic (Live Together or Die Alone: a Call to Radical Fellowship), you will see an example from my own life of when I was led into seeing my own heart through a brother’s effective use of questions. In that situation, I do not think I would have seen my heart as clearly if I had been approached by someone loaded with observations and words of wisdom or correction to bring to my attention. The use of gentle questions was effective in opening my heart to see my own issues without proud defensiveness or argument.

Here is a list of questions that can be useful for our conversations/fellowship together:
1. What evidences of grace are you experiencing these days (i.e.-clear signs of growth in Christ and joy in the gospel)?
2. What is one specific truth you gained from that sermon or study or book?
3. What is one specific application of it that you plan to make in your life?
4. What are you struggling with these days?
5. What are biblical terms for this struggle?
6. Why do you think you are struggling with it?
7. How might your view of God affect this struggle?
8. How does the gospel affect you in this battle?


* For a sampling of other examples see God’s questioning of Cain in Genesis 4:6, 9, 10 and of Job in Job 38-41; Samuel’s probing of Saul in 1 Samuel 15:14; Jesus’ use of questions in John 6:5, 6; Luke 24:17, 19; apostolic deployment of questions in James 4:1f; 1 Corinthians 4:7.

** Another fruit of the practiced use of specific questions is an ability to self-assess and self-counsel. Individuals can ask themselves questions which aid in their awareness of the issues and state of their own hearts, so that even when others are not present, the work of sanctification can proceed at full speed.

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

Hebrews: A Model of Gospel Centered Correction

As stated earlier, the book of Hebrews is both a call to warning and exhorting fellowship, and an example of it. It calls us to warn each other and it is itself an extended warning. So it models what it commands.

If space allowed we could unpack various aspects of such ministry that the author utilizes in this letter.* We would see that he uses a variety of tools in his exhortation appeal to his readers: fear, hope, the love of God our Father, promises, historical examples of what happens to people who do not persevere in faith, and then examples of what God does for those who do.

More than anything, the author proclaims the surpassing worth of Christ (Hebrews 1-4) and the surpassing work of Christ (Hebrews 5-10) as the chief means to inspire his readers to keep on keeping on in the faith of Christ. This is another reminder that all ministry—even warning and exhortation ministry—must always remain gospel ministry. All one anothering in the body of Christ must always be thoroughly Christ and cross centered, or it will not be effective ministry at all.

This is truth for life. I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 where the ongoing process of being saved (i.e.-the process of perseverance in faith) is maintained through a never ending commitment to the gospel of a crucified and risen Savior. Hebrews models this wonderfully.

All ministry, all fellowship, all correction and wounding grace must be lived out in an atmosphere saturated with an everyday focus on the Person and Work of Christ. Never correct anyone without giving them Christ. Never receive correction without receiving Christ in a fresh way along with that correction.

Correction, the harder work of fellowship, will do only harm unless it is accompanied by reminders of the free justifying, adopting, preserving, and forgiving promises of the gospel—all guaranteed for us through the redeeming work of the Savior.

The writer of Hebrews knew that; so should we.



* For a more complete understanding of the Hebrews’ call to radical fellowship you may obtain a spring, 2008 series of messages presented by TFC, entitled, Live Together or Die Alone. Visit our website to order or download this series.

** For more on cross centered living see our Cardiphonia entitled, Gospel Centered Living from A-Z as well as C.J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life and Jerry Bridges’ The Gospel for Real Life.

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

There is much about fellowship, that could be said, but I can’t draw this series out for too long so I’m going to have to zero in here on a few matters that I think need focus because they are areas of weakness in contemporary fellowship.

Where We Are Not So Strong

As we encounter the one another commands of Scripture we are not given the luxury of selective obedience; we have to pursue faithfulness in all that fellowship involves. With this in view we realize that there are aspects of fellowship in which most Christians are not so strong. Particularly I would identify the aspects of biblical correction, warning and admonition. We’ve yet to fully embrace the Bible’s teaching that we are to seek out and offer a ministry of mutual accountability and warning care, such as is encouraged in Proverbs 27:5, 6, 17:

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs isn’t calling us to a ministry of criticism or to a witch-hunt in the church. Rather God is challenging us to notice when brothers and sisters in Christ are caught up in patterns and habits of sin, and to do what we need to, to lead them into the forgiving and transforming grace of God.

Fellowship’s Harder Work

This is what I would call fellowship’s harder work. I say it’s harder, because, well, other things are easier. If anyone finds this work easy, I’d suggest a heart transplant. Frankly, anyone who enjoys wounding a friend is disturbed. People who love find no immediate pleasure in speaking correction or rebuke into the lives of those they love. Parents will know well the experience of disciplining their kids, and being compelled to say to them in the process; “This hurts me at least as much as it hurts you.” Why? Because it does.

Hebrews: A Mandate for Wounding Fellowship

The New Testament letter called Hebrews serves at least two functions. It is both a wounding and warning letter, and it is also a call to wounding and warning fellowship. In this letter the Holy Spirit warns us to stop sinning against, and wandering from Christ,* and He also commands us to warn one another, lest any of us should so wander. Here are three key texts commanding the latter:

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin…”

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal” (Hebrews 3:12, 13; 10:24, 25; 12:12-16).

Hebrews makes it clear that we are our brothers’ (and sisters’) keeper. What matters to you should matter to me, and nothing matters more than that you (and I) keep on keeping on in the way of Christ.

Next time we'll look at what's at stake in all this.


* See Hebrews 2:1-3; 3:12; 4:5-13; 10:26-39; 12:18-29; 13:22. In Hebrews 13:22, the author calls his whole letter an exhortation/warning: “I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.”

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

One Anothering

Biblical fellowship is fleshed out through a series of New Testament one anothering commands.* Numbering over 50, these commands define the breadth, depth and scope of fellowship as revealed by God. Through these one anothers we see that biblical fellowship cannot be reduced to one-dimensional conversationalism, but must be pursued as a multi-faceted and multi-layered enterprise of love. In order for a church to care faithfully and fully for its members, it needs to embrace all these dimensions of fellowship and practice them with intentional focus.

Selective Fellowship

My experience has been—as I witness my own inclinations and those of others I love—that we tend to be selective in our practice of fellowship. We define and do fellowship in commitment terms with which we are most at ease. We choose aspects of fellowship that fit our personality most readily, make our friends most comfortable, or avoid the tasks most unpleasant.

But the thing about one anothering commands is that they are one anothering commands. All of them are imperatives which mean that none of them is optional. So practicing the one anothers is not a matter of personality or spiritual gifting; it’s a matter of obedience. All of us must do all these things in whatever sphere of fellowship and responsibility God entrusts to us. God calls us to step into this work with faith that He will enable us as we go.

God Gives What God Commands

Sometimes we avoid certain duties because we fear we cannot do them. When obedience is neither comfortable nor easy nor natural, we are tempted not even to try. It was this battle with moral paralysis that led the early church father, Augustine to pray: “Lord, give what you command, and command what you will.”

Augustine prays for grace from God so that he might be obedient to God. He asks God to give what He commands. Then in the confidence that God will do just that, this early Christian pastor boldly invites God to command whatever He wills. And he does so backed up with biblical promise:

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:8-11, emphasis added).**

It is this confidence that God gives grace whenever God gives duty that can liberate us to enter the world of true fellowship with believing hope.


* For example: Romans 13:8; 12:5, 10, 16; 15:5-7, 14; 16:16; Galatians 5:13; 6:1, 2; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9; 5:11, 26; 1 Peter 1:22; 5:14; 1 John 3:11; John 13:34, 35; Acts 2:46; 4:32; Ephesians 4:2; 5:21; Philippians 1:27; Hebrews 3:12, 13; 10:24,
25; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; Colossians 3:12, 13.

** See also Philippians 2:12, 13; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, especially v.11

Labels: Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

I’ll be away on vacation for a few days, but in my absence I’ve prepared a few posts that are excerpted from my booklet: Live Together or Die Alone: A Call to Radical Fellowship. I hope you are stimulated to love and good works by them.

Introduction

The Greek words for fellowship appear twenty-seven times in the New Testament, and speak of something shared or held in common or partnered in. Fellowship, a shared life of faith and love, is an essential dynamic of the Christian life. It is essential in that it is part of the essence of life in Christ: we cannot be in Christ without sharing the life of His body (1 Corinthians 12:12, 13).* And it is essential in that none of us can get along without it.** Literally it is true: we live together or we die alone.

Going Beyond “How Are You?”

It’s been observed often that we Christians know well how to dilute the idea of fellowship. We reduce it to little more than chit-chat, being masters of the superficial, engaging in the equivalent of a social dance with a stranger, synchronizing our conversational steps so as to move slightly in each other’s direction without stepping on each other’s toes or getting too close.

We ask each other “How are you?” but then don’t wait around for anything resembling a real answer. If anyone answers with anything but a smiling-faced “I’m fine!” we don’t know how to respond and we’re quite sure we don’t want to. We know that we’re supposed to go beyond how are you, but we seldom seem to get there.

I wish these last two paragraphs exaggerated churches’ fellowship deficiencies, but as I re-read them, I’m startled by how precisely they describe much of my own flawed interaction with others. I’m guilty of the sin of shallow fellowship.

May I encourage you to feel bold enough in God’s forgiving grace in Christ to look hard at yourself to see if you have been guilty of fellowship neglect as well? Let’s realize that grace covers even our failures to love one another in the church as we ought, and with that knowledge let’s stare sin in the face so we can see where we need to grow.


* “All believers share a common life in Christ, whether or not we recognize it. We are in fellowship with literally thousands of believers from every nation of the world. Although we have never met most of them, yet we are in fellowship with them. We disagree with many of them over various issues of faith and practice, yet we are still members of the same Body. Even though we struggle to like some of them, that does not alter the fact that we share together a common life in Christ. Neither our attitudes nor our actions affect this objective sense of koinonia (fellowship). We are in fellowship with all other believers, whether we like it or not--or even recognize the fact. This objective truth of koinonia is meant to provide the foundation for the experiential aspects of fellowship. The realization that we do in fact share a common life with other believers should stimulate within us a desire to share experientially with one another. This is the whole thrust of New Testament teaching on koinonia" (Jerry Bridges).

** "We should not...think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition to the exercises of private devotion. We should recognize rather that such fellowship is a spiritual necessity; for God has made us in such a way that our fellowship with himself is fed by our fellowship with fellow-Christians, and requires to be so fed constantly for its own deepening and enrichment” (J.I. Packer).

Labels: christian life, Church, Fellowship, Spiritual disciplines

In my devotions this morning I read the last two chapters of Jeremiah which describe the invasion of Jerusalem and its destruction. Then I read all of Lamentations which expresses the prophet's grief over that destruction. As I read I found my heart crying out to God for mercy on His church today and in coming generations.

Jerusalem had once been a city of great joy and holiness as it was the place of God's dwelling and blessing. She was a place of worship, of prosperity, of the real and felt presence of God. The temple was there. The kings lived there. The manifold grace of God was there.

But sin crept in, and it hadn't taken long. David had ruled Jerusalem with a whole heart for God; His son Solomon had ruled with half a heart; his sons and grand-sons with no heart. And from there, with only a few periods of revival mixed in, each generation had become more evil than the ones before. Finally God had enough and allowed Babylon to come in and destroy.

Jerusalem was laid to ruin. And as Jeremiah walked the desolate streets of the once happy, once glorious, once filled-with-God city, he mourned what once was, but was no longer.

This past Sunday, our church building was filled with the glories and beauties of God. Worship was sweet and glad and holy. The Word was preached. The hurting were comforted; the faithful were honored; the lost were found; the glory of God was among His people.

But what will become of this in years to come? As I read this morning, God moved me to cry out for coming generations; for this generation. How quickly we can wander! How quickly we can stray! How quickly we can become complacent! How quickly we can grow spiritually fat and forget God! And how quickly God can remove His favor so that the city, the church once glorious can become a ruin.

I pictured the building in which we worship, and imagined it desolate. I imagined it silent, with no songs of praise, no preaching of the gospel, no celebrations of God's grace, no holy transactions between God and His people; a place desolate and doomed. And I realized that there is an enemy still who seeks to destroy and devour the people of God as he always has.

Lifting my eyes from the page of Scripture this morning I raised them to a picture of my children that rests in the little room where I meet God each morning, and I cried out for each of them and for all their peers: "O God keep them faithful to the covenant; keep them faithful to Your truth; keep them faithful to Your gospel and to Your law--so that Your church will not be a desolation in years to come."

Friends, whatever church you attend can become a desolation in a few short years. It can become a desolation in your lifetime. It's possible for it to happen so quickly that before you die you could walk the halls of your church building and mourn the loss of what once was.

I do not mean to spoil your day with gloom and doom. But I do mean to call you to vigilance and prayer. O pray for your church. Pray for your pastor/shepherds. Pray for your own soul that you would have no delight but in God, no truce with any sin, no infatuation with the world, no compromise with any error.

Pray for this and the coming generation, that we would not see in our day or in any day to come, the doom and desolation caused by the enemy, or by a God who has had enough with the church.

Pray that the halls of Trinity Fellowship Church--both spiritual and physical--would always be filled with the songs and sounds of a holy people who are passionate for their God, who hate sin, and who love nothing but His Name.

Labels: Church, Prayer, Repentance

I was in church this morning worshiping with the people of God and here's what I noticed:

- People of every age and therefore generational culture, worshiping together with joy, most of them enjoying varying generational styles
- People of white American, Italian, African-American, Moroccan, Hebrew, European, and Asian decent and culture (and probably more that I'm overlooking) all joining hearts to worship
- People rescued from seriously drug-addicted, alcohol-devastated, violent, criminally guilty, abortion-scarred, abused, divorced, self-righteous, poverty-stricken, well-to-do, educated, and illiterate personal and cultural backgrounds, all loving Christ and living new lives in Him.
- People who like jazz and country and classical and rock and roll and who knows how many other varying music cultures, all singing with one voice
- People, some who are single, some who are married, some who are divorced, some who have children and no spouse, and some with a spouse but no children, and some who have been bereaved of spouse and/or children--all living in a different personal "culture," but all coming together as the family of God with one Father in heaven and Savior-husband for their souls.

In all these case I saw people whose culture and whose lives were being redeemed by Christ, restored by grace, recovered by the power of God. Here were living evidences that some culture wars are being won.

This reminds me that in the end the only real work that redeems people and cultures is the work of the gospel. Cultures do not change by changed laws or political forces at work. Cultures change only as people change, and people change only as they come into contact with the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation.

So whatever else we do let us never forget to proclaim in our times the message of the One who died for our sins and rose from the dead, because in the end nothing so changes people as the gospel of God's saving and changing grace.

Labels: Church, Culture War