May 1st was the National Day of Prayer. I joined a number of other pastors and Christians at the Coeur d’Alene City Hall to pray for our nation and our local community. I was charged to pray for the churches of America. Below is the prayer I wrote – it is patterned after Psalm 80. May the Lord have mercy on the church in America – we are compromised and corrupt and in need of God’s grace.
I was reminded as we were praying of an anecdote about Francis Schaeffer. Schaeffer was asked by a young man who was zealous for the Lord, “Dr. Schaeffer, do you think we’ll witness a revival in our day?” Schaeffer responded, “I hope not.” When the young man expressed surprise at his answer, Schaeffer explained. “You young people are so shallow doctrinally and biblically, that were the fires of revival to fall on the church today it would be like lighting a pile of kindling. The fire would burn real hot and then die out in a short time. Start reading old books; start reading Calvin and Augustine and Luther and Athanasius. Develop some doctrinal and biblical substance so that were God to send revival the fires would have something to burn.” As much as I appreciated the zeal of the prayer event, Schaeffer’s comments ring true and express our deep need for more theological and biblical wisdom. May God make us like tamarack logs that will burn hot and long.
National Day of Prayer
May 1, 2014
Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)
Jesus said, “…I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Almighty and Everlasting God
Hear our pleading and our cry for help
As we pray for your church,
The church for which Jesus died and rose again;
The church which Jesus is building even now;
The church which we believe shall triumph over her foes
In accordance with Jesus’ promise.
Hear our prayer, O Lord,
For you are our Shepherd,
And we are the sheep of your pasture;
You lead us forth like a flock.
Shine forth! You who dwell between the cherubim;
Rise up in strength and come to save us.
Restore us, O God;
Cause your face to shine upon us,
And we shall be saved.
O Lord God of hosts,
Our churches often
compromise your truth;
fail to proclaim your Name;
shrink back in fear from the taunts of your enemies;
fight one with another;
So we have become a reproach to our enemies;
We have become full of wickedness and deceit;
Our shepherds have failed to lead;
Our sheep have refused to follow
Wild goats have entered the sheepfold
And wolves have torn the flock.
Have mercy on us, O Lord;
Restore us once again;
Cause your face to shine upon us,
And we shall be saved.
For this is your Church, O Lord,
The vine that you have planted;
You are the One who prospered us here in this land.
Who caused us to take deep root
And fill the land.
So return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this your vine.
Grant us grace that we might
Fully embrace your truth;
Joyfully proclaim your Name;
Fearlessly stand against wickedness and deceit;
And love one another,
So that the nations might know
that you are the Lord and
that we are your people.
In the Name of Christ our Lord,
Amen.
I submitted an article in praise of bullies to the Coeur d’Alene Press which was published yesterday. If you’d like to read it online it is available here. This is a modified version of a previously unsubmitted letter.
The point of the letter is that if there is no higher principle of justice that stands over and above every society, then we are simply left with the majority imposing their will on the minority. This is evident in one of the responses to my article online which says that it is simply society which dictates what is just or unjust. But if society dictates what is just or unjust then why is bullying wrong? If the majority of kids think it’s acceptable, then why not just let it go? Might makes right.
From a Christian worldview it is possible to answer this question – the reason we don’t let it go is because there is a God who has created us in His image and, therefore, even those with whom we disagree are worthy of honor and respect.
It Seemed Like a Good Idea
November 15, 2013 in Bible - OT - Isaiah, Coeur d'Alene Issues, Eschatology, King Jesus, Meditations, Politics, PostmillennialismIsaiah 42:4 (NKJV)
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
When we are tempted to grow discouraged with the state of the world and the current condition of Christianity in Western Society, it is helpful to remember the Servant Songs of Isaiah. Here in these songs, God revealed millennia ago the calling of our Lord Jesus Christ – a calling which Jesus self-consciously fulfilled in his earthly ministry. Having fulfilled the calling of the songs to suffer, Jesus is now, as the Ascended and Exalted Messiah, fulfilling their call to rule and reign.
So what shall be the nature of His reign? As Jesus spreads His influence throughout the world, what will be the result? The result will be, according to our text, the spread of true justice and liberating law. Jesus as the Word of God made flesh will cause His Word to prevail in the earth and for justice founded on His law to triumph.
So what are we to think when we witness times of setback? What are we to think when the cause of justice, so strenuously established over hundreds of years, is in the course of just a few decades undermined and in many cases destroyed? Is this cause for despair? Should we perhaps rethink whether our Lord and Savior Jesus means to establish justice in the earth?
Here the Servant Songs come again to our aid. Notice the promise in our text: He will not fail nor grow discouraged until he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands shall wait for His law. Jesus is not discouraged. God is not looking down at the world and declaring, Well it sure seemed like a good idea at the time. God is in control; He has seated Jesus at His right hand where He rules and reigns over the earth. No one can thwart Him or say to Him, “What have you done?” For he does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the nations of the earth.
Isaiah’s promise reminds us of the lessons Jesus endeavored to teach during his lifetime. What is the nature of the kingdom of God? It is like a mustard seed which starts as the smallest of all seeds but when it is planted gradually grows until it becomes a great tree in which the birds of the air make their nests. To what shall we compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman hid in a lump of dough until the entire lump was leavened.
The task of preaching and spreading the kingdom of God is not an easy task; throughout church history there have been times of great success and there have been times of abysmal failure. At the moment in Western society we are in the midst of a largescale apostasy. But Jesus is not discouraged; He knows precisely what He is doing and His calling to us is to be faithful to Him – to preach the Gospel, to teach the Word of God, and to worship the Living God.
So reminded that we are not to grow discouraged but instead to trust in the Sovereign pleasure of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, let us kneel and confess that we have often failed to look to Him in faith.
Why Church Hopping Doesn’t Reveal a Love for the Church
September 27, 2013 in Bible - NT - Hebrews, Church History, Coeur d'Alene Issues, EcclesiologyCoeur d’Alene is full of folks who don’t understand the biblical teaching on the importance and centrality of the church – including the local, visible church. Over the years I’ve met many people who hop from one spot to another and avoid joining a local church and submitting themselves to a specific group of elders. I’ve recently been interacting with some folks on the importance of this issue and thought that I would post some words I wrote for them:
Our conviction, based on Paul’s admonitions to us in Hebrews, is that membership in a local church and submission to a local group of elders is not an option for us as Christians but is required:
- “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.” (Hebrews 13:7)
- “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17)
In the same way in which I demonstrate my respect for women generally by loving one woman, my wife, in particular, so the way that I show my love for the church universal is by loving one church, my local body, in particular. The man who claims he loves women and that’s why he won’t commit to any one in particular hasn’t learned the meaning of biblical love. Likewise with the church – if we claim to love the universal church the way we manifest that is by committing to a local body not by sampling the goods that each has to offer. This conviction is based on the teachings of Scripture and is the position under which we operate.
For those interested, I’d recommend Joshua Harris’ little book Stop Dating the Church now repackaged as Why Church Matters: Discovering Your Place in the Family of God. Also consider Edmund Clowney’s The Church for a more thorough treatment of the issue.
The Flamingo Moral
September 26, 2013 in Coeur d'Alene Issues, Creation, Education, Evolution, Fabulosities, PoliticsWell my cynical side got the better of me when I read the article in the Coeur d’Alene Press today (see here) about bullying alongside the announcement that former president H.W. Bush had witnessed a faux marriage of two women in Maine. So I penned an unsubmitted letter to the editor on the “bullying” issue that is all the rage in our media right now:
In Praise of Bullies
It seems the Coeur d’Alene School District is concerned about the presence of bullying in the schools. But I’ve been thinking that we should be more sympathetic toward bullies – that perhaps we should even praise them.
Now lest you dismiss me as a kook, just consider my argument for a moment. Last night my children and I watched an astounding documentary on the types and habits of eagles. We watched with amazement as a fish eagle swooped down on a flamingo, bore it to the ground, stood on its neck and killed it. Survival of the fittest on display. But then an interesting thing happened – a pair of much larger and stronger golden eagles swooped in and drove off the fish eagle, stealing his kill. It seems the golden eagles hadn’t attended the workshops on bullying offered by the school district.
So here we were watching this documentary on eagles when suddenly the thought struck me – hey, I’m just a distant cousin of the eagle! According to the official curriculum of our government educational system, as a human being I am not fundamentally different than an eagle. I too have evolved from that first bit of protoplasm by random processes and natural selection. I’ve gotten to where I am by natural selection and the survival of the fittest. So why shouldn’t stronger humans simply use their strength to take what weaker humans have obtained? Why not imitate the golden eagles?
After all, consider those golden eagles. Big, majestic, strong: they are clearly the evolutionary superiors of the fish eagles; no fish eagle measures up. And with bullies – maybe it’s the same. They’re usually bigger and stronger – okay maybe the majestic part is missing. But, hey, you can’t have everything in one package.
But if it’s true, as the schools teach our kids, that human beings are simply very sophisticated animals, then why not imitate the golden eagles? After all, the macro-evolutionary myth is used to reinforce various other morals. We’re supposed to care for the planet because she’s given us birth. We’re supposed to treat animals nice because they and we are cut of the same cloth. So why choose just these morals? Why not the “bully moral” as well? Bullying is okay because golden eagles push fish eagles out of the way and eat their flamingos. Perhaps we could call it the flamingo moral to avoid the “b” word. After all, if there is no moral standard that stands over and above our eco-system, then it seems that we should be willing to speak in praise of bullies.
Gender Identity Part 1 – Saving the World from Suicide
September 26, 2013 in Bible - NT - Romans, Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, Law and Gospel, Mosaic Law, Politics, Sexuality, Ten CommandmentsAs promised, the first sermon in the series on Gender Identity is now available online. Go here to listen and obtain an outline.
Human Rights and Wrongs
September 25, 2013 in Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, King Jesus, Law and Gospel, Politics, Sexuality, Ten CommandmentsI submitted a My Turn article to the Coeur d’Alene Press yesterday in response to Tony Stewart’s article in the paper last week. My article was published today and is available online here. It is imperative both for the good of our city and the preservation of our integrity, to speak clearly and frankly about the issue of homosexuality and the attempt by the LGBT community to co-opt the language of human rights to sanction their perversion.
If you think that my questions about pedophilia, incest, bestiality, etc. are unnecessary, then please consult the excellent article in The New American by Selwyn Duke. It is entitled, “The Slippery Slope to Pedophilia.” He hits the nail on the head. May God have mercy upon our nation and turn us from our folly and from the trajectory on which we are currently headed. I tried to outline that trajectory in my sermon last Sunday entitled, “Saving the World from Suicide.” It should be up on the website soon.
For those who prefer, my article is printed below.
______________
During this local political season, it is important that our communication with one another be characterized by a firm allegiance to honesty, integrity, and truth. As a local pastor, I decry sins of the tongue – slander, gossip, lies, outbursts of wrath, false accusations – all dishonor our Creator and defame others who are made in the image of God. It is my desire to speak the truth in love.
To that end I wish to address the misleading way in which the agenda of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered (LGBT) community has been linked by some, including Mayoral candidate Steve Widmeyer and homosexual activist Tony Stewart, to the idea of human rights. We need to preserve the “human rights” of those in the LGBT community and not discriminate against them.
It is important that members of our community understand that this linking of the ordinance with human rights is false and destructive. First, it is false. The ordinance is not about the preservation of human rights but about the public sanctioning of immoral and destructive sexual behaviors. Our forefathers never taught that “human rights” include the “right” to do what is wrong. And this ordinance is not about the preservation of human rights but human wrongs. It is the equivalent of passing a law forbidding discrimination against thieves and adulterers – granting public protections to those who engage in particular immoral actions.
Second, it is destructive. It leaves human rights in the hands of human beings. The founders of our great nation were careful to maintain that our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were given to us by the Creator, not by any human agency, whether a vote of the people or a decision of the king. Governments are created to protect and preserve these rights; but the rights exist independent of any government. On this matter, Mr. Stewart is exactly right: every decision of the majority is subject to the moral law.
So where do we find the moral law? Clearly Mr. Stewart believes in it; he appeals to our “moral compass” to oppose discrimination against those in the LGBT community. So how does he identify what is moral or immoral? Shall we soon find him defending the “right” of citizens to practice polygamy, bestiality, incest, or pedophilia? Perhaps murder, rape, thievery? No doubt he opposes such things. But on what basis? Public opinion? Then he undermines his claim that these things exist independent of government decisions and leaves us in the hands of the people. The Creator? Then he needs to explain how we understand and know the mind of the Creator. And if we can only know the mind of God through individual human opinion then we’re back to our first dilemma – we have to take a vote. Vox populi, vox dei: the voice of the people is the voice of God. And in that case whatever the people decide becomes “moral” – it becomes two wolves and a sheep trying to decide what to eat. It leaves us in the hands of the people.
Christianity resolves this dilemma by appealing to an objective moral standard that stands over and above every human society – Christian or non-Christian. We know what is good and right and honorable through the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Here God has revealed the moral law – it is summarized in the Ten Commandments and lived out in the life of Jesus Christ. And this law clearly identifies the LGBT lifestyles as perverse and destructive both individually and societally. This law leaves us not in the hands of human beings but in the hands of God. As historian Arnold J. Toynbee remarked, “Sooner or later, man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God.” There is no third option.
Contrary to Mr. Stewart’s claim, love and discrimination always go hand in hand. It is the father who loves his daughter who teaches her to discriminate among suitors. It is the mother who loves her son who teaches him to discriminate and choose his friends carefully. It is Jesus who loves the poor who discriminated against the moneychangers and overthrew their tables (see Matthew 21:12-17).
And so I would urge the citizens of our community to use proper discrimination as you approach the polls. Always defend human rights while ardently opposing human wrongs. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
Pastor Stuart Bryan
Trinity Church
Destroying the Wisdom of the Wise
June 30, 2013 in Bible - OT - Obadiah, Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, Marriage, Meditations, Sexuality, WisdomObadiah 8 (NKJV)
8 “Will I not in that day,” says the LORD, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau?”
This week the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Defense of Marriage Act and further advanced the perverse agenda of those who would obliterate all vestiges of Christianity from the laws and institutions of our once great nation.
If you, like me, find yourself scratching your head and wondering, “How in the world did we get here? How is it possible that otherwise intelligent men and women could argue that the Constitution protects the rights of men and women to do that which is perverse and unnatural? Particularly when the Constitution was written by those who would be shocked and appalled by the uses to which the document is being put?” If you find yourself asking these very reasonable questions, let me direct your attention to our text today.
Edom was a people descended from Esau and had shared, like their namesake, in covenantal unfaithfulness. When the Israelites were suffering at the hands of the Babylonians, the Edomites mocked Israel’s suffering and assisted the Babylonians in plundering the land despite the covenant oaths that had joined Edom and Israel together. So God sent the prophet Obadiah to prophesy against Edom and announce the judgment that would fall upon the Edomites. What was the judgment?
“Will I not in that day,” says the LORD, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau?
Brothers and sisters, God still rules and reigns in the affairs of men – and the proof of His reign is that we are witnessing this same judgment on our land. Our wise men are being destroyed and understanding is being removed from the ruling centers of the land. Washington D.C. is a den of fools and charlatans. It seems that our leaders can no longer tell a man from a woman – and yet we expect them to calculate our tax burdens and administer justice?
We stand in desperate need of the grace and mercy of God – and the only way that we can expect God to pour out His grace and mercy upon us is if we bow before Him and confess our sin and rebellion against Him. As the Church, our calling is to lead the way in this confession. So today, let us kneel and confess that we have as a people rebelled against God and let us ask Him to have mercy upon us and our nation.
Homosexual Christians?
June 28, 2013 in Baptism, Coeur d'Alene Issues, Homosexuality, Politics, SexualityOne of the editors of Touchstone Magazine wrote an excellent article on homosexuality and the Church. Go here to read his thoughts. It is critical that we saturate ourselves in the Word of God and the testimony of the sacraments in the midst of a culture askew.
The Coeur d’Alene Press covered the SCOTUS overthrow of the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this week. One of the things that struck my wife and me after reading the “word on the street” section of the paper was that most people’s opposition to homosexuality has been simply a matter of bigotry and tradition – not conviction based on Scripture and the way the Creator has hard-wired the universe. Those quoted simply didn’t express any measurable conviction other than, “Hey, whatever they want to do is fine. If the Supreme Court said so it must be okay.” As though the Supreme Court is the deity and the things others do have no measurable affect on the rest of society. The doom this spells for us as a people is sobering.