On Sunday I preached the third message in a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount.  We covered the first of Jesus’ six antitheses:

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

In the aisle and in the Fellowship Hall, after the service, I was asked about God’s anger, about Christ in overturning tables in the temple, and about us calling people or things foolish, that God calls foolish. 

All good questions; with compound answers.

1. Human (fleshly) anger serves no good purpose.  It hurts us, it destroys our homes, it ruins our testimony, etc.  The verse list is long, but please search “anger” in your favorite Bible program if you aren’t convinced.
2. God’s anger is holy and always directed at sin and sinfulness.
   1. The phrase “righteous indignation” has been coined to represent humans who are angry at sin on God’s behalf.
   2. I’m certain Moses felt righteously indignant when he struck the rock at Meribah that resulted in his dying outside the Promised Land.
   3. I too feel pretty incensed at things like abortion and other flagrant injustice, but do I have the standing to “burn with anger?”
      1. In John 8 Jesus welcomes whoever is without sin to cast the first stone
      2. In Matthew 7 Jesus tells us to first remove the log from our own eye..
      3. Perhaps I had better look at my own heart before I verbally cut out someone else’s!
   4. Paul seems to acknowledge that anger arises outside of our control, but we can control how long it burns (Eph 4:26). 
   5. And James says we don’t have the standing to judge (condemn) anyone as that right is reserved for God alone. (4:11-12)

Please be berean.  Yes, the Bible is full of godly men and women who sometimes get angry.  It is also full of proverbial warnings about the folly of anger;  epistolary warnings about the dangers of anger; and, here we have our Savior saying, it’s no different than murder.  

If Moses wasn’t allowed, then I suspect I’m not allowed either.  I doubt any of us will ever experience the kind of temporal consequences he experienced and praise God Jesus already suffered our eternal consequence! 

Pastor Scott

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

Recently I overheard someone, speaking of a younger person who was no longer active in church, remark that it was especially striking given how blessed this individual was.  I immediately thought of Deuteronomy 8 in which Moses told the children of the original children that they were about to go into the land filled with milk and honey, the land that God, by Himself, delivered into their hands.  They were going to get rich (fat and happy); and unless they remembered to thank Him, they would begin to believe they had earned all of this blessing by the sweat of their own brow and they would forget the very God Who gifted it to them.  It’s the same principle that Abraham Lincoln cited when he made his Thanksgiving Proclamation.  It’s the reason why Scripture tells us over and over to be thankful – NOTHING we have, or even are, is because of us!  But the minute we forget, Satan whispers in our ears…..

It’s more than a mealtime ritual or an annual holiday, it’s an acknowledgement that every perfect gift comes down from above and that without Him we can do nothing!

Pastor Scott

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Ephesians 5:20

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Colossians 4:2

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Colossians 3:15

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Psalm 106:1

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalm 107:1

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

1 Chronicles 16:34

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Colossians 3:15-17

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Psalm 69:30

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

1 Corinthians 15:57

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:4

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,

Psalm 7:17

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

1 Thessalonians 1:2

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When I get gas these days, I just wave or tap my credit card at the pump to pay for it.  Yesterday I saw a commercial for a machine that reads your palm to receive payment.  I see the videos of AI robots doing amazing things, or of the World Economic Forum making its global pronouncements.   It’s very easy to believe that the age of the anti-Christ is being ushered in.   As a pre-triber I’m not too concerned about those 7 years, but the birth pangs could get rough; and NOBODY but the Father knows the “when.”

The Apostle Peter in the first of his two letters clearly believed the age was coming to an end sooner rather than later.  He doesn’t tell us to run for the hills,* or stockpile food and weapons.  He tells us to pray.  To love each other.  To take care of each other.  And to keep using our gifts to glorify God!  (1 Peter 4:7-12)

Of course, he wrote that as an old man.  The younger Peter grabbed a sword!  And many of us feel the need, in light of these changing times, to channel our inner warrior (or worrier).  David the Warrior King wrote many of the Psalms during turbulent times.  Let’s look specifically at Psalm 46.

The Earth Roaring.  

Mountains Crashing into the Sea.  

Streams Overflowing their banks.  

Nations of Heathen raging!  

Neither Joshua’s sword, nor David’s sling, nor your 12 gauge will stand a chance against earthquakes, floods and heathen hordes…  but God’s got you, too!
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; (an M-4 wouldn’t give Him a problem)
He burns the chariots with fire.  (and the tanks and the fighter jets…)
“Cease striving (stand at ease)  and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 

Psalm 46:9-10 Emphasis Added

*Yes, in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25) Jesus says to flee for the hills; but that is when you see the Abomination of Desolation (24:15-16); which is the desecration of the Temple that happens at the midpoint of the Tribulation.  I believe that He knows He is talking to the Nation of Israel that will go through the Tribulation.

On Sunday I introduced Adam Weeks as our Worship Pastor starting October 1.  Some of you may remember when we brought our last guy on, Dr. Stolberg, in ’07 that he candidated and was voted upon by the whole congregation.  Below is the germane content of two emails to the music committee and church board, that, I think, explains well what Gary Rogers (Board Chairman) and I are thinking. ~Pastor Scott

As we weren’t getting many nibbles, Gary went hunting.  Adam Weeks is the Website/Marketing guy for Calvary and 2019 grad with a double major in Biblical Counseling and Musical/Theater Arts.  (For those of you with long memories, he’s a year or two older than Troy was when he came). He comes highly recommended from Tom Stolberg.  He is a PK from Hays, KS.  He plays the piano and cello but has picked up lots of instruments to play in various groups at Calvary.  He majored in Biblical Counseling because he developed a heart for discipleship as he worked with music and theater groups.  He has a strong singing voice as well.

Our by-laws describe three different hiring processes.   1) Hiring a new senior is a big fat hairy deal 🙂 2) Hiring other “Pastors” involves the Senior Pastor (me) screening; essentially “nominating;” then board approval, followed by congregational approval. 3) Hiring other Staff is on me.  So, I offered Adam the opportunity to come aboard as a “staff hire” of a music interim for a period not to exceed six months.  By the end of March, we will either be resuming our search or voting on him.   

Gary writes: “Yes, I’ve seen him in action both as a worker and musically. I have been very impressed with his heart and work ethic. Several Calvary music students seek him out to be part of their small group performances since he does so well. I highly respect the young man. After praying a lot, I decided to approach him, not expecting interest, but he prayed about it and wanted to proceed with the possibility.”

Email Exchange

Nobody Has Out-sinned the Grace of God 

By Kenneth Yates on Sep 07, 2023 09:30 am

Manasseh, one of the kings of Judah, was not a good man. He brought a great deal of grief upon his people. He ruled for 55 years and is described by the author of 2 Kings as the evilest king in the nation’s history (2 Kgs 21:1-16).

When God gave the Jews the Promised Land, He drove out the nations that were in it because of their sin. Manasseh did all that those pagan nations had done—and even worse. He rebuilt places for worshiping idols throughout the land of Judah. He promoted the worship of Baal and even instituted the worship of the stars and planets. God’s temple in Jerusalem was turned into a place of idol worship as well.

Manasseh even sacrificed one of his sons to an idol. He did not rely on the Word of God for guidance but turned to witchcraft and sought out the advice of the spirits of dead people. The author of 2 Kings says that Manasseh shed a great deal of innocent blood. We are not given specifics, but this probably means that he took advantage of the weak and powerless. He probably persecuted and killed the prophets of God. A Jewish legend says that he was the one who killed Isaiah by sawing him in two.

Israel, Judah’s Jewish sister-nation to the north, was defeated by its enemies and taken into captivity. Even though Manasseh had the advantage of knowing what happened to the Israelites because of their disobedience, he did not learn from them. When He gave the land to His people, God had removed the nations from Canaan because of their sin; He had removed Israel for the same reason. Manasseh committed worse sins and was clearly deserving of God’s wrath. To make matters worse, in his role as the king he set an example for his people. He caused the nation as a whole to rebel against the Lord and led its people to be deserving of God’s wrath. As a result, God declared that He would drive all of them out of the Promised Land and that they would experience great calamity at the hands of their enemies.

It would be difficult to find a more loathsome individual in the pages of the OT. After fifty years, Manasseh had plunged his people into a pit of destruction. Many men, women, and children would lose their lives as a result of his actions and the evil example he set.

The author of 2 Kings does not give all the details of Manasseh’s life, but the author of 2 Chronicles fills in some of those details. Towards the end of his life, God disciplined him because of his many sins, using the king of Assyria to do so. Assyria took Manasseh away as a prisoner, bound with chains. That is to be expected; Manasseh deserved what happened to him because of his sins (2 Chron 33:10-11). The reader would be tempted to say, “I hope he dies in prison.” He was an evil, murdering, idolater who led many others to destructive behavior and death.

But then something amazing happened. Second Chronicles records how, in his chains, Manasseh called out to God and humbled himself before Him. He prayed to God, and God heard him. The Lord brought him back to Jerusalem and placed him back on the throne. He ended his reign in Jerusalem on a high note. He removed the idols he had placed in Judah and in the temple of God. He made sacrifices to the Lord, thanking Him for His grace and mercy (2 Chron 33:15-16).

Obviously, Manasseh shows us that anybody, and I mean anybody, can be a recipient of the grace of God. Any unbeliever—no matter what he has done—can believe in Christ and receive eternal life. Any believer—no matter what sins he has committed—can confess his sins, find forgiveness, and have fellowship with the Lord. I had a teacher in seminary who summarized these facts nicely: Nobody has ever out-sinned the grace of God.

But there is another lesson here. The author of 2 Chronicles gives us one other piece of information about the life of Manasseh. Even though he called upon the Lord and found forgiveness, his fifty years of evil had devastating consequences on his country. At the end of his life, he served the Lord. But we are told that the people did not follow his example. They would continue in the evil practices that Manasseh modeled for fifty years. This would lead to the whole nation’s being taken captive in the near future.

Fifty years of evil also impacted Manasseh’s family. His son, Amon, took the throne when Manasseh died. For most of his life, Amon had seen the depravity of his father. We are told that he was an evil king himself, just like his father (2 Kgs 21:20).

What is the lesson? Even though anybody can experience the mercy and grace of the Lord, the consequences of our sins still remain. The forgiveness of sins is available to us. But this is not a license to sin. How much better off would the people of Judah and the family of Manasseh family have been if he hadn’t lived such an evil life for fifty years?

If memory serves, every time I’ve sought permission to repost blogs GES sends me they say, no permission needed. I sure hope I’m remembering right. I don’t want to presume on grace! Pastor Scott

As I’m preparing to preach the final message on “The Church,” I was reviewing the Pastoral Epistles and was struck again by the fact that the focus is less on how to “do church” and more about “who does church.”  I found a phrase going through my head that I learned very early in ministry “Being comes before doing.”  There was no way to write down what a church was going to look like across the world for 2000 years, but we know the type of people that need to run a godly church.   All that said, I typed my little catch phrase into Google and found an article written for Impact ministries by Ken Adams in 2017.  I think it captures the meaning of the phrase well.  Blessings, Pastor Scott

Before God ever wants you to “do” something for Him he wants you to “be” something with Him!

When Jesus came to fulfill His mission of making disciples, He knew He needed to start by teaching a handful of people what it means to be a disciple. Once Jesus made some disciples they could, in turn, build more disciples. Jesus understood that being always leads to building.

Being a disciple is best explained in what is referred to as the Great Commandment. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Great Commandment is all about being in right relationships. The first goal of a disciple is not doing; it is being rightly related to God, to yourself, and to others. When you are being rightly related to God, self, and others, you will naturally help others to experience the same thing. Doing comes out of the overflow of being!

A question well worth asking is this: Are you being the disciple Christ wants you to be? Are you being rightly related to God? Are you being rightly related to you? Are you being rightly related to the other people around you?

I’ve known plenty of Christians who are so busy doing for God that miss out on being with God. If you suddenly stopped all of the stuff you do for God, what would happen? How would you feel? Would you feel like you were missing something or would you still be fulfilled?

Over the years I have come to understand being a disciple as having a right relationship with God, with myself, with my family, with other believers, and with the world around me. For me, being a disciple is all relational. When any of these significant relationships in my life are not right, I know I am not being the disciple that Christ has called me to be.

Remember the story of the pokey little puppy or the five little monkeys?  The pokey puppy was always digging under the fence and the five monkeys were always jumping on the bed.  The moral of each story was “to be good.”  It’s not surprising that when we hear the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” we always think in terms like:  “If you don’t want someone to take your stuff, don’t take their stuff!” or  “If you don’t like it when people lie or gossip about you, don’t lie or gossip about them!”  

Our focus in raising our kids is that they “BE good.”  And I think, at least for some of us as adults, that continues to be our focus.  And it’s not a wrong focus on its face. We are supposed to be pure in heart and live godly lives, but refraining from evil is only half of the Christian walk. We are also supposed to DO good.  

And here is where we get into the grown up application of the Golden Rule.  What act of kindness would bless you today?

• Do you wish somebody would tell you that you were doing a great job?  Maybe that’s a cue to pick up the phone or grab one of those note cards!

• Do you wish that someone would mow your lawn or swing by Aldi for you? Maybe it’s time to put your chore shoes on.
• Would you love it if someone dropped by with flowers or a QT card? Maybe it’s time to go do some random gift shopping.
• Do you long for someone to just shoot the breeze with? Who do you know that might be staring out the window today?
• Maybe you could use a hug? Maybe today you see someone who needs one!

No, your kindnesses don’t need to follow the five love languages, but as Emily Dickinson wrote:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain

Just a thot,

Pastor Scott

In Romans 4 Paul says in no uncertain terms that, just like Abraham, we are justified by faith NOT works. James says in James 2 that just like Abraham we are justified by works NOT faith alone. This can be very puzzling, and has spawned lots of debate until we realize that each apostle is looking at a different event in Abraham’s life.

Paul, in Romans 4, is looking at Genesis 15 when he was still with out an heir from Sari. God took him out of his tent and pointed him to the sky declaring, that seed from his own body would someday out number the stars! The next verse says, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

James, in James 2, is looking at Genesis 22, some 20 years later. Isaac, Abraham’s only son, is a young man and God asks Abraham to take him up on Mt Moriah and sacrifice him. Abraham obeyed God. He packed up his son and some wood and they headed up the mountain.  “And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” (v. 10) But God stayed his hand saying in verse 12: “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” James says of this incident “by works faith was made perfect” (2:22)

My contention is that Abraham was justified vertically, before God, when he believed that promise out there looking up at the stars. He was justified horizontally, or maybe better “conformationally,” when he trusted God enough to lift that knife! He passed that test, he never looked back after that!

What does that have to do with the teens? It’s possible we have some who haven’t had their “I believe moment” – but that’s unlikely. Pray for them that their confirmation moment (week, month, years) would no more painful than necessary and that God would protect them even as they make their faith their own!

Hope you are able to join us Sunday to celebrate what God is doing in their lives!

Pastor Scott

I don’t know about you, but when I read a novel I always identify with the protagonist (the hero); and I find I do that in Scripture as well.  Take our favorite hero story, David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.  Haven’t you read that and thought of yourself as David and thought of your biggest issue in life (or biggest current challenge) as Goliath? Perhaps you remember a preacher (even me*) encouraging you to do the same?  On the one hand that’s not wrong, God does give us the strength we need to handle “our Goliaths.”  But that’s probably not the primary message we should be taking away from God’s hero stories.  For instance, in 1 Samuel 17, I’m not “David,” I’m one of those weak-kneed Isrealiiets cowering behind David.  David, in this story, represents Jesus! 

Now, if you’ve gotten this far in this blog, you might be saying, “Thanks P.S.; now how am I supposed to benefit from that point of view on the story?”    By remembering, what only David remembered among all of the Israelites that day – The battle belongs to the Lord!  (1 Samuel 17:47; 2 Chronicles 20:15)

You don’t have to fight every battle, you don’t have to win every fight, but you do have to know and trust one Who already has!

Because I’m His,

Pastor Scott

*Yes, I have preached this POV; the POV of David as representing Jesus is NT.

I shared this on Sunday, but feel the need to share it here too:  

There is a lot of evil in the world.  The dark cloud seems to be growing and a lot of us are paying a lot of attention.  We don’t want to be caught flat-footed; unaware.  So we study the signs, we stare evil in the face.  We need be sure we will know how to counter it.  Yet, that’s not exactly what the Bible says.  I’m supposed to be thinking about what is good!  I’m supposed to be fixing my eyes on the Author and Finisher of my faith.  I’m supposed to literally be “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts; living soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking  for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ!

Sure, evil is out there.  Cain slew Abel and there is a world full of Cain’s today – their judgment is certain; we’ve NOTHING to fear! Amen?  It only only seems like God is delayed bringing it to an end, consider this blurb from “Our Daily Bread:”

Scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center report that one of the largest stars in our galaxy is about to self-destruct. Eta Carinae, which has a mass 100 times greater than that of our sun, is giving signs that its life is about over. Researchers say that it could become a supernova — a blazing, exploding star — within the next 10,000 years. What was especially interesting about the “Science News” report was the statement that since light from the star takes 9,000 years to reach the earth, the actual explosion could have already taken place.

This striking fact reminds me of the nature of biblical prophecy. For example, the predictions found in Revelation 8 (The Seventh Seal)  are often written in the past tense. This is done because even though the prophet is writing of a future event, he has already “seen” it. Also, in the mind of God it’s as if the events have already happened. Even though Christians differ on the interpretation of today’s Scripture, we can definitely say that God’s judgment against sin is certain. The outpouring of His anger against those who continually resist Him is so sure that it has been written about in the past tense. This should cause us to reflect with the apostle Peter, who wrote so appropriately, “Seeing, then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11). As Christians, we know what’s ahead for this world, and that knowledge should keep us living close to God. 

And out of that closeness should flow, peace, joy, and a passion to share our faith!

Pastor Scott