How are we doing as a church? What should we be giving thanks to God for in our congregation? For what should we be praying?
State of the Church 2011
January 9, 2011 inThe Church of God – and every local church – faces two dangers which ever threaten to consume her, two dangers which have always threatened the health of God’s people and that continue to threaten the health of the Church to this day. And it is these twin dangers which our Lord Jesus addresses immediately after delivering the Beatitudes in the Sermon on Mount. Today we explore these two dangers, the way they are impacting the broader Church, and the way in which they are threatening our local congregation.
The Jerusalem Above (Gal 4:21-31)
May 2, 2010 inMany Christians today urge us to support the cause of the modern nation of Israel. The nation of Israel, we are told on one website, is “God’s special place on earth”, “a land for which God cares” in a special way, more than He does all the rest of the earth. Good News for Israel declares, “Israel is the linchpin in studying Bible prophecy… Without Israel, Bible prophecy doesn’t make sense.” And so a study of Nehemiah, with this mindset in place, would urge us to pray for modern day Jerusalem and invest time and money in the modern nation state of Israel.
But let me suggest that such folks, as well intentioned and passionate about Jesus as they are, are terribly misled. And the tragedy of their error is that rather than supporting the advance of the Kingdom of God by their work, they are undermining it. Why do I say this?
Distinctives Part III – To Worship in His Temple
January 27, 2008 inEzekiel’s eschatological vision of the Temple helps us understand not only the centrality of the Triune God but also our own place in God’s plan. Jesus is the Temple of God and all renewal proceeds forth from His throne. Because of this all those in Him, whether individual believers or, more pervasively in the NT, the Church, are also called the Temple. Since the Church is the Temple of God, Ezekiels helps us understand that God has chosen to link the spread of His Word and Spirit with the labors of the Church and also that the primary responsibility of the Church, like the Temple, is to worship the Living God.
Distinctives Part II – Water from the Throne
January 20, 2008 inThe Triune God is the center of everything. Consequently, our attitude toward Him should be one of reverent anticipation – listening to hear His voice. And because God is Triune, because in the eternal fellowship of the Godhead the Father, Son and Holy Spirit speak and communicate with one another – it makes sense that God would communicate to us in words as His image bearers. And so our correct response is to be people of the book – the book which through the power of the Spirit remakes the world.