Grace Notes

As I prepare to preach Richard “Sunny” Boxx’s funeral tomorrow, I’m finding paperwork for Nelson Borden’s service, from just a couple of weeks ago, tucked away in my funeral folder.   It made me remember the sweet bond those two had.  Every Sunday, for months, they each came early to Sunday Service and sat having coffee.  After a while Nelson started baking cookies and bringing a couple to share over coffee.  

I thought, wouldn’t it be neat to have a picture of that precious communion – Sgt. Sunny, being devoured by cancer, having a chocolate chip cookie with Maj. Nelson who is being devoured by the ravages of age.  I texted the coffee ladies and several others who were around early on Sundays.  To a person they said something like, “No, sure wish I did!” or “I had no idea that Easter would be the last Sunday they would ever share those moments!”

The point, however, of this blog is not my regret of having never snapped a pic.   The point is that we NEVER know when the last time will be for any opportunity.  Have you recently told your mom, spouse, kids that you love them?  Do you have your documents in order?  Have you mailed that birthday gift that is sitting on the kitchen desk?  I could go on and on, but you know what the Bible says about those of us who assume we’ll always have “tomorrow!”     

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.

~James 4:13-15

As the sage says: “Live one day at a time, but always have your bags packed!”

Be Blessed,

Pastor Scott

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 

Genesis 3:1-7

I saw Satan today….. on a YouTube video.  He was posing as a progressive pastor and is, apparently, quite popular with kids who grew up in church.  In this video he states, unapologetically, that God – in His Word – never says anything forbidding pre-marital sex, or sex with multiple partners while married, and He certainly never prohibited homosexual acts!  The heretic went on to say that all these prohibitions were imposed, not by the Bible, but by the Purity Movement who wanted to control our bodies and our most intimate thoughts.  Satan always twists God’s words!

The truth is, the sacredness of the marriage bed is proclaimed from Genesis 2 through John’s Revelation*.  God’s Word says, in 1 Corinthians 6, that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that sex outside of marriage causes the Holy Spirit to by engaged in that which is unholy.  In 1 Thessalonians 4, God says it’s His will for our sanctification that we abstain from pornea which is any sexual thought, word, or deed outside of marriage.   God, our Maker, knows that sex is the access point for the corruption of our walk with Him.  Satan, through this progressive preacher, is not trying to persuade young Christians to cheat in school or even to try drugs, he’s going right at the only sin that we can commit against our own body (1 Cor 6:17).

I don’t want to make the mistake that the purity writers made of holding virginity up as a “god” or as the surest route to happiness, but I don’t want to overlook the clear teaching of Scripture.  You want to have a close walk with God?  Put away ALL sexual immorality!  God’s plan hasn’t changed.  One man, one woman for as long as both are alive (Matt 19:3-9).  If your “felt” needs (temptations) are other than conformity to God’s standard then, my friend, you share something in common with ALL of humanity.  Jesus died to save us from sin, not that we should walk in it!

Pray for me, as I pray for you, and be on guard against the Roaring Lion!

Pastor Scott

*“because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”

Revelation 19:2

As I was reprocessing last Sunday’s sermon on 1 Peter 4:7-11 (Peter’s instructions to the church to pray, love, host, and serve because the last days are upon us), my mind was drawn to a verse from Daniel, Chapter 1.  Israel’s Cadet (future officers) Class was brought to Nebuchadnezzer’s palace and enrolled in a program to make them good servants of Babylon.  As part of the program they were to eat like the nobles, food that YHWH had forbidden.  It was undoubtedly a high pressure situation and a HUGE temptation to “go along.”  But verse 8 sets the course for Daniel and his friend’s lives.  “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.”  My guess is that had Daniel waited to make that decision a year into his training, it might have been much harder to implement!

How does this apply to Peter’s “last days” pleas?  Here in the states life is still pretty chill.  Yes, we can see the writing on the wall, but it’s been up there since, at least, the 60’s and we’re doing fine.   A fiery trial, however, could easily be right around the corner.  “Purposing” to pray, love, host, and serve while our house is on fire may be too much for anyone.  Get in the habit now!  Individually, we need to choose now to each be the church we want around us in the fire!  

The following isn’t an end-of days (1 Peter 4:7) kind of illustration, but Schuller does tell a good story about the wrong time to make decisions!

I remember one winter my dad needed firewood, and he found a dead tree and sawed it down. In the spring, to his dismay, new shoots sprouted around the trunk. He said, “I thought sure it was dead. The leaves had all dropped in the wintertime. It was so cold that twigs snapped as if there were no life left in the old tree. But now I see that there was still life at the taproot.” He looked at me and said, “Bob, don’t forget this important lesson. Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst mood. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.” 

Robert H. Schuller, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!, Thomas Nelson.

Blessings on you and yours,

Pastor Scott

In preparation for Communion on Mother’s day, I had planned to use Genesis 22 – the sacrifice of Isaac – and this was one of the articles I had tagged. It’s a great article but in posting it I am not carte blanche endorsing the Gospel Coalition – they write well, but think differently about some NT doctrines. Hope this one blesses you! ~Pastor Scott

‘Kill Me a Son’: The Beautiful Scandal of Abraham’s Sacrifice

As Abraham lifts the knife above Isaac, many Christians reach for the scissors, at least mentally. We want to pull a Thomas Jefferson and snip out the story from our Bibles.

In Genesis 22, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. Many conclude that this, surely, is an embarrassment to modern sensibilities, an affront to our common humanity. It’s an unbridgeable barrier to faith for any right-minded enquirer, isn’t it?

Bob Dylan retells the story like this:

Oh God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son”
Abe says, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on”
God say, “No.” Abe say, “What?” (“Highway 61 Revisited“)

“What?” isn’t Abraham’s response in the Bible, but Dylan is putting words to our alarm: You must be puttin’ me on! Child sacrifice? In a holy book? What should we make of such a story?

I love Genesis 22. It is perhaps my favorite chapter in all the Bible. I don’t want to get out the scissors; I want to get out the magnifying glass. Because if we train our eyes to see what’s there, this chapter becomes not a barrier to faith but an almighty boost.

But we need to begin with some basics.

What Is the Bible?

Sometimes Christians are the worst at answering that question. Some will reply, “The Maker’s Instruction Manual,” or “God’s Road Map.” Creative types have even given us an acronym: BIBLE stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” Most often people, whether Christian or not, see it essentially as a moral guidebook.

But if we read Genesis 22 through that lens, we’re in for a shock. When God says, “Sacrifice your son,” how should we react? Go and do likewise? No. If we copied or endorsed each practice in the Bible, we’d be in a terrible mess (not to mention jail).

Genesis 22 should be read the way the whole Bible should be read. 

 

Genesis 22 should be read the way the whole Bible should be read. First and foremost it’s a biography—the Spirit’s testimony to the Son. And when we see it this way, the entirety of Scripture comes into focus.

Testimony to Jesus

The key to the passage is to ask this question: Who is Isaac? Answer: Abraham’s offspring. He’s the immediate fulfillment of the cosmic promises God has been making since Genesis 12. The offspring of Abraham will save and bless the world (Gen. 12:2–3, 7; 15:5; 17:4–8). In the meantime, the “offspring” of Abraham will be the nation of Israel. In the long run, the “offspring” is Christ (Gal. 3:16). But in the first instance—before the Abrahamic people and before their Messiah—we get Isaac.

Picture baby Isaac lying in Abraham’s arms. What do you have? You have the hope of the world. No Isaac, no Israel. No Israel, no Christ. No Christ, no salvation. So whatever you do, Abraham, don’t drop him!

And then we read Genesis 22: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

Everyone is shocked by this verse, but to the attentive reader it’s actually more shocking, not less, because we know who Isaac is. He’s the offspring of Abraham, the hope of the world! Through Isaac will come all God’s blessings to the nations. And now God wants him slain as a burnt offering (i.e., a sacrifice of atonement, Lev. 1:4). Apparently this is the way God will save the world—through the beloved son offered up on a mountain.

Notice that this mountain is in “the region of Moriah.” Mount Moriah will become temple mount in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 3:1). At some point the penny may just drop.

Getting It

I was once teaching this story to teenagers, sketching the picture layer by layer: “Isaac is the only beloved son, the hope of the world, the source of all blessing. He’s trudging up the hill with wood on his back (Gen. 22:6); remind you of anything? It’s a hill near Jerusalem; ring any bells?” Suddenly, it was as if someone electrocuted a girl in the front row. In a good way. She started thumping her friend next to her—really thumping her—with the kind of violence born of pure joy: “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. It’s Jesus! It’s Jesus! It’s totally Jesus!”

Instead of Genesis 22 being an insurmountable barrier to faith, with Jesus at the center it becomes an incredible boost to faith. 

 

That, essentially, is why the Bible was written. It was written to make us say, “It’s Jesus, it’s Jesus, it’s totally Jesus!” When we read the Scriptures like this, they start to make sense. Instead of Genesis 22 being an insurmountable barrier to faith, with Jesus at the center it becomes an incredible boost to faith. Remember that Genesis 22 records an event two millennia before Christ was crucified. But from the beginning, the Bible has always been testifying to history’s central event.

He Will Provide

Abraham’s faith shines through the chapter. He reassures Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering” (v. 8). Somehow a substitute will be provided. Somehow God will offer a lamb and everything will be okay. Abraham knows that Isaac is the promised one, the hope of the world. So whatever happens, Isaac will make it through—Abraham has this resurrection-shaped faith (Heb. 11:17–19).

On this occasion a ram is provided. Which means the “lamb” is yet future. So the whole episode concludes: “Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Gen. 22:14).

Notice the future tense. God will provide. What will he provide? The Lamb of God, the Offspring of Abraham, the Beloved Son, the Hope of the World.

One day, on that very mountain, God would provide the ultimate atonement. And many knew it. For centuries afterward they would point to that hill and say: “The true sacrifice is coming, and that’s where he’ll be provided.”

What’s It All About?

God didn’t ask Abraham to go through with the sacrifice. But one dark Friday, God would provide. The beloved Son of the Father would walk willingly up that hill, carrying the wood on his back. And there he would be slain to save and bless the world.

If we attempt to read the Bible primarily as a rulebook, it crumbles between our fingers. With such a mindset, Genesis 22 is a scandal and a barrier to faith. Yet when Scripture is read as intended, we see it as a testimony to Christ. Suddenly we realize that all the Bible, and all believers in every age, are fixed on the one truth that towers above all others: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

NOVEMBER 27, 2018  |  GLEN SCRIVENER
Editors’ note: 
This article is adapted from chapter 3 of Long Story Short: The Bible in 12 Phrases (Christian Focus, 2018)

Saw a headline that read, “Christians are getting their lunch handed to them!”  On the national stage every victory seems to lead to a string of setbacks.  So what do we do?  Well, when your team is getting beat.  When you’ve fallen into bad habits or even despair.  It’s time to return to “the basics.’  Consider David’s words in the first 6 verses of Psalm 37.  Meditate on these verses today and get your heart thinking with God’s heart – despite what your eyes may be seeing! Blessings, PS

A Psalm of David.

Do not fret because of evildoers,

Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

For they will wither quickly like the grass

And fade like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light

And your judgment as the noonday.

We at Word of Grace affirm both ancient creeds – with a clarification or two.  🙂  Sunday May 1, we are going to address one of the “problems” we have with the Apostles Creed.   Did Christ really descend to hell before the Resurrection?   Miss a Sunday, miss a lot! 

The Nicene Creed (325 A.D.)

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the begotten of God the Father, the Only-begotten, that is of the substance of the Father.

God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten and not made; of the very same nature of the Father, by Whom all things came into being, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.

Who for us humanity and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate, became human, was born perfectly of the holy virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.

By whom He took body, soul, and mind, and everything that is in man, truly and not in semblance.

He suffered, was crucified, was buried, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven with the same body, [and] sat at the right hand of the Father.

He is to come with the same body and with the glory of the Father, to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there is no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the uncreate and the perfect; Who spoke through the Law, the prophets, and the Gospels; Who came down upon the Jordan, preached through the apostles, and lived in the saints.

We believe also in only One, Universal, Apostolic, and [Holy] Church; in one baptism with repentance for the remission and forgiveness of sins; and in the resurrection of the dead, in the everlasting judgment of souls and bodies, in the Kingdom of Heaven and in the everlasting life.

The Apostles’ Creed (5th Century) 

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting.

Amen.

On Sunday April 24, we will be looking a Peter’s instruction to live harmoniously, fifteen minutes after that, then we are looking at Spiritual gifts (“if the whole body was an eye, where would the hearing be?”) in the Theology Class at 11am.  The illustration below serves both passages, hope it blesses your heart and illumines your mind!

Several years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest-ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and, when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had met one another in school when the armless Mr. Kaspryzak had guided the blind Mr. Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books which the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the individual deficiency of each was compensated for by the other. After their graduation, they planned to practice law together.

Gary Inrig, “Life in His Body.”

See you Sunday!

Pastor Scott

… Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

… Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?

… Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

… Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were You There? lyrics © Bluewater Music Corp., BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

I was there (1 Peter 2:24)!  Were you?

~Pastor Scott

I am approaching this Sunday with fear and trembling because we have progressed through Peter’s first epistle to Chapter 3:1-7; aka  “For better or worse.”  

Given that a marriage sermon sorta’ leaves out a segment of the congregation I planned to write this blog about “Singleness.”  I grabbed one of my trusty sermon illustration books looking for inspiration about the topic.  This book is arranged by subject and lists them alphabetically…I got to “sinfulness” and knew I was close, but the illustrations skipped right over “Singleness” and went to “Sovereignty.”   Now I’m not a big signs and wonders guy, but I’d have to be blind and deaf not to see that one! 🙂

R.B. Kuiper once used the following illustration of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility:

I liken them to two ropes going through two holes in the ceiling and over a pulley above.  If I wish to support myself by them, I must cling to them both.  If I cling only to one and not the other, I go down.

I read the many teachings of the Bible regarding God’s election, predestination, his chosen, and so on.  I read also the many teachings regarding “whosoever will may come” and urging people to exercise their responsibility as human beings.  These seeming contradictions cannot be reconciled by the puny human mind.  With childlike faith, I cling to both ropes, fully confident that in eternity I will see that both strands of truth are, after all, of one piece.  

I don’t know if my readers have never married or are widowed; I know many are married and I’m hoping they read this too.  If any of us are saddened or worried by our state, or if any of us have anger or regret rise up because of something that “isn’t,” this is a great reminder.  Even as we pull on our rope (doing all that we can), we hang on to His rope knowing and believing that He knows best!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding; 

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Your Fellow Sojourner,

Pastor Scott 

No fooling!  We really are offering two options starting tomorrow morning at 8am.  The first option is the one you have heard about if you stay awake during the announcements. 🙂  Men’s Alliance is geared toward getting men into an “iron sharpens iron” (Prov. 27:17) fellowship of guys who learn to have each other’s backs (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) as they seek to serve God, their families, and their community.  I love the concept, but there are already two leaders; one of whom I’ve worked with for two decades who knows me well enough to know that a boot camp environment is not what I’m suited for.

Therefore, Pastor’s Bible Study will begin this Saturday as a second option for men to take part.  This desire was also expressed at one of the formational meetings this winter.  So if you aren’t suited to sweat, but still want to fellowship with fellow men, join me in the Fellowship Hall Saturday morning as we start a 30+ week study of Proverbs.  I’ll make sure the coffee is strong!

Hope to see all the men, regardless of age, at 8am tomorrow, whether you drive through the gate to join Men’s Alliance out back or come in through the front doors to join Pastor’s Bible Study in comfortable chairs.

Your Brother in Christ,

Pastor Scott