Fellowship: It's Much More Than Just Supper Together (by Peter Brock)

In Stephen J. Lawson's book about expository preaching entitled, Famine in the Land, he describes the multifaceted impact of the apostles teaching as found in Acts 2:42-47. One aspect that he addresses from the passage is that of "energized fellowship" as found in verse 42, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." On page 46 of his book Lawson writes, "These two activities - the apostles teaching and fellowship- are closely related, suggesting that the the apostles biblical preaching directly impacted the quality of the new believer's' personal relationships. Koinonia, the Greek word translated "fellowship," means "association, communion, fellowship, close relationship." It denotes "the unanimity and unity brought about by the Spirit." Lawson goes on to explain how biblical preaching promotes pure fellowship. "As God's Word purged and purified their (early Christians) hearts, the quality of their love for each other grew even stronger" "A Word-fed church will be a fellowshipping church."
As believers, our fellowship with one another is rooted in the truth of God's Word. The more we learn about our jointly held relationship with Jesus Christ, the deeper, fuller and purer will be our fellowship with other believers. May we be marked as those who engage in true, Scripture-fed fellowship. May we be identified by Holy Spirit empowered unity rooted in God's truth.

Pilgrim's Progress 4

Good morning and welcome to our online book study of Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. For more information regarding this study click HERE. Also, remember that we are going to discuss the book according to the various stages detailed HERE.

Today we are discussing Stage Four of Bunyan's book: Valley of Humiliation, Conflict with Apollyon, Valley of the Shadow of Death, Giants Pope and Pagan

The dominant scene of this stage is obviously Christian's encounter with Apollyon. Apollyon is one of the Devil's servants who rules as Lord over Christian's hometown, the City of Destruction. Naturally, he is upset at losing one of his subjects and seeks to coerce Christian into returning to his service.

He begins by reasoning with Christian and trying to bring him back through dialogue. Christian replies, "I was born indeed in your dominions, but your service was hard, and your wages such as a man could not live on, 'for the wages of sin is death.'" Later on, Christian speaks of his new Lord and says, "I like his service, his wages, his servants, his government, his company and country, better than thine; and therefore leave off to persuade me further; I am his servant, and I will follow him."

This dialogue only serves to further anger Apollyon. He steps it up a notch and reminds Christian of his unfaithfulness to his new Lord. Notice Christian's reply, "All this is true, and much more which thou hast left out; but the Prince whom I serve and honour is merciful and ready to forgive."

Have you ever felt like the Devil was bombarding you with reminders of past sins? I believe this is one of his favorite tactics to use in frustrating and discouraging believers. We must reply like Christian did. We must look the Devil in the eye and say, "Yes I have committed all those grievous sins, plus many more. But, Christ has forgiven my sin. He has taken the burden and penalty of my sin upon Himself. His mercy and forgiveness are great!"

Again, this only makes Apollyon angrier. He abandons dialogue and pursues violent action. Christian defeats him with his two-edged sword, the Word of God. I found it interesting that as Christian continued on his journey following his defeat of Apollyon, he kept his sword drawn. He stayed prepared for battle. The application for us is to keep our sword drawn. Our sword is the Word of God. We must study it and be ready to use it. It is our most powerful weapon.

Your Turn

Now it is time for you to share with us some of your highlights. Share how this section encouraged you or challenged you.

Next Week

Next Monday, we will discuss the Fifth Stage: Discourse with Faithful, Talkative & Faithful, Talkative's Character

Pilgrim's Progress 3

Good morning and welcome to our online book study of Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. For more information regarding this study click HERE. Also, remember that we are going to discuss the book according to the various stages detailed HERE.

Before we begin today I want to share with you a link which has been very valuable to me in our study. Click HERE to read the Wikipedia article concerning The Pilgrim's Progress. This site has a lot of information as well as links to other sites.

We have come to Stage Three of Bunyan's book. If you recall, last week Christian visited the Interpreter's House. Stage Three begins with Christian setting out from there and resuming his journey.

Christian comes to the Cross. As he does so, his burden falls from his back and rolls into the sepulchre. What a picture this is of our sin being swallowed up by the death of Christ. Christ took our sin with him to the grave. Notice Christian's sobering comment here, "He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death."

The Three Shining Ones appear. They tell Christian that his sins have been forgiven and then they give illustrate the doctrine of justification for us. They remove his filthy rags and give him a new coat. His new raiment is a picture to us of the righteousness of Christ which is imputed to us at salvation. They also set a mark upon his forehead and give him a roll which proves to be his assurance of salvation.

We learn more about Christian's new coat later when he converses with Formalist and Hypocrisy. He says, "Surely, think I, when I come to the gate of the city, the Lord thereof will know me for good, since I have his coat on my back - a coat that he gave me freely in the day that he stripped me of my rags." So it is with us. When we come to that city, our Heavenly Father will know us because we will arrive dressed in the righteousness of Christ which was freely given to us when he stripped us of our sinful rags.

Did you notice the high value Christian placed upon the roll that was given to him at the cross? He viewed that roll as his assurance and even refers to it as his "evidence" of what had happened. When he realizes that he has lost it, he immediately retraces his steps and doesn't not stop until he has found it again. How many people there are today that earnestly and fervently search for assurance!

Another highlight for me was when Christian is talking with Watchful, the porter. Watchful asks his name and Christian replies "My name is now Christian, but my name at the first was Graceless." What a descriptive name! All of us were once named Graceless. I praise God that He has chosen to show grace to me.

I also found encouragement in Christian's conversation with Prudence. Prudence asks if he can remember how he overcame some of the carnal annoyances that creep into his life. In other words, how does he fight sin. He replies, "When I think what I saw at the cross, that will do it; and when I look upon my broidered coat, that will do it." Let us take this reminder to heart. Let us remind ourselves of the cross. Let us look upon Christ's righteousness which has been imputed to us. Let us flee from sin and carnality.


Your Turn
Obviously, I have left out so much from this Third Stage. This was one of the longer stages we have read so far and there are many things in this stage that I didn't even mention. I simply pointed out some of my personal highlights. Now it is time for you to share with us some of your highlights. Share how this section encouraged you or challenged you.


Next Week
Next Monday, we will discuss the Fourth Stage: Valley of Humiliation, conflict with Apollyon, Valley of the Shadow of Death, Giants Pope and Pagan.

Two Things I'm Thankful For (by Stephen Simpson)

I wanted to use today's post to accomplish a couple of things. First, we recently had some great family pictures taken. I thought I'd share a couple with you today.

Secondly, since Pastor Brock opened the subject of Thanksgiving yesterday, I thought I would continue that theme today.

There are numerous things I am thankful. Today I mention two. First, I am immensely thankful for my wife, Nicki. She completes me. I would be so lost without her. I was thinking just this morning of how difficult my life would be without her. I am so thankful that God has brought us together. She is truly an excellent wife. Not only that, she is an excellent mother. Abi has got it made!! She has the best mother.

Which brings me to the second thing I'm thankful for, my daughter Abi. I am so thankful to God for the baby girl that He has given us. What a blessing it is to come home from work and watch Abi get all excited when I walk in the room.

God has blessed me with so many wonderful things. I praise Him for His goodness and kindness towards me. What are you thankful for?

Early Thanksgiving Thoughts (by Peter Brock)

With Thanksgiving a little more than a week away, I thought it would be interesting to take a brief look at the holiday and its beginnings in the United States. Next week we'll read the words of Abraham Lincoln regarding Thanksgiving, but this week we'll begin with our first president, George Washington. I read with great interest his Thanksgiving proclamation found below. As you read the proclamation, you will gain insight into Washington's understanding of almighty God. May you be challenged, as I was, by Washington's acknowledgment of God as the Sovereign Author of all life and goodness, the Lord and Ruler of nations.

A NATIONAL THANKSGIVING

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and

Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness":

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplication to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best."
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, AD 1789 George Washington

Pilgrim's Progress 2

Good morning and welcome to our online book study of Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. For more information regarding this study click HERE. Also, remember that we are going to discuss the book according to the various stages detailed HERE.

Today we have reached Stage Two: the Gate, conversation with Good-Will, the Interpreter's House, Christian entertained, and the sights there shown him.

When we left Christian last week, He had just been confronted by Evangelist who had redirected him. Having returned once again to his original path, Christian reaches the Wicket-Gate. He knocks and asks for admission. Good-Will opens the gate and pulls him in.

Christian and Good-Will have an interesting conversation. One highlight for me was when Christian asks for help with the burden on his back. Good-Will replies, "As to thy burden, be content to bear it until thou comest to the place of deliverance; for there it will fall from thy back of itself." There is much to think about in Good-Will's answer. Good-Will tells Christian to be content to bear the burden of his sin. In other words, "stop trying to remove the burden in your own strength. When you come to the cross, the place of deliverance, your burden will be removed all by itself."

Christian comes to the Interpreter's house and sees many wonderful things there. I will readily admit that I did not understand the full significance of everything Christian saw here. One scene I really enjoyed was the parlour scene. Bunyan lets us know that the parlour represents our own heart before salvation. He then masterfully illustrates the effect of the law upon the sinful heart. He shows how the Law, "instead of cleansing the heart from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase in in the soul...for it doth not give power to subdue." The heart is only cleansed by the Gospel, represented by the water which was sprinkled throughout the parlour.

The Interpreter then takes Christian to another room and shows him Patience and Passion. The Interpreter, in explaining this scene to Christian gives a reminder to all of us, "the glory of the next world will never wear out."

Again, Bunyan gives an amazing illustration through the scene of the fire "burning against a wall." On one side of the wall stands the Devil throwing water on the fire to extinguish it. On the other side of the wall stands Christ pouring oil on the fire to keep it burning. Too often, we only see the Devil trying to extinguish this fire, which is the work of grace in our hearts. We fail to remember that Christ is working on our behalf. He stands fueling our fire and sustaining it.

The Interpreter shows Christian two more things: the palace and the man in the iron cage. After showing all these things to Christian, the Interpreter gives some final words of instruction and sends him on his way.

Your Turn
Now obviously, I cannot comment on everything. This post is already long enough. I only comment on those sections which really encouraged or stimulated my mind. Now it is your turn. Don't be shy. Share your highlights from this section.

Next Week
Next Monday, we will discuss The Third Stage: Loses his burden at the Cross - Simple, Sloth, Prsumption, Formalist, Hypocrisy - hill difficulty - the Arbor - misses his roll - the palace Beautiful - the lions - talk with Discretion, Piety, Prudence, and Charity - wonders shown to Christian - he is armed

God My Way? (by Peter Brock)

Due to a conference I attended recently, as well as some current reading, I have been challenged as to the magnificence and greatness of our almighty God. In today’s church culture, there is the temptation to be culturally relevant rather than God-honoring. There is the temptation to make God “palatable” to unbelievers and believers alike. At times we want to make God our friend, forming Him into something acceptable to our chosen Christian life style. Yet, as I have been reminded from the Scriptures, our God is much different than what we often make Him out to be.

- Scriptures teach us that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace.

- He is the one living and true God.

- He is infinite, and perfect in all His attributes.

- He is the Almighty Creator of all things.

- Because He is the absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, God is perfectly sovereign in creation, providence, and salvation.

- All that comes to pass is ultimately for His own glory.

- He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events.

- By His perfect grace, He has chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own.

- He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

How do I/we worship the God of Scripture? In my personal daily life my worship of God is evidenced in my every thought, action, choice, attitude and word. In corporate worship, every part of worship should direct our attention to our God and who He is in His perfect character. Our worship needs to be different from the world because our God is holy and righteous. It needs to be different because our God is eternal and sovereign over all creation.

May we, as individuals and as a body of believers, maintain a high view of the God of Scripture that affects every aspect of personal and corporate worship. Allow the words of Psalm 104 to remind you of the greatness of our God.

Psalm 104

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.

3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind;

4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.

------------

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works,

32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!

33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!

Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

Pilgrim's Progress 1

Good morning. Today we begin our study of John Bunyan's classic work, The Pilgrim's Progress. For more information regarding this study click HERE. Also, remember that we are going to discuss the book according to the various stages detailed HERE.

Today we are on the First Stage: Christian's deplorable condition, Evengelist directs him, Obstinate and Pliable, Slough of Despond, Worldly Wiseman, Mount Sinai, Conversation with Evangelist.

Our story begins with Christian, a man with "a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back." The more he reads his 'book' the more distressed he becomes until he finally exlaims "What shall I do to be saved?" It is amazing to me that as soon as he asks this question he meets Evangelist. To me, the timing is important. It appears that Evangelist is sent in response to Christian's question. Evangelist gives the word, "Fly from the wrath to come." He sends Christian towards the wicket-gate.

I hope you noticed that as Christian fled towards the gate, Bunyan writes that "the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on, crying, Life! Life! Eternal life!" He shut all of the cries from his family and friends to stay behind. He left everything to journey towards the wicket-gate in hopes of being rescued from the terrible burden upon his back. Do you see the parallel between this and many who come to Christ today? They often lose those close them because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

As Christian sets out, two of his neighbors, Obstinate and Pliable, pursue after him in hopes of convincing him to return home. Obstinate gives up his effort rather quickly. Pliable continues on with Christian until the way gets difficult. Once they reach the difficulty of the Slough of Despond, Pliable abandons his journey and returns home. Later on, this sad tribute is given of Pliable, "Is the celestial glory of so small esteem with him, that he counteth it not worth running the hazards of a few difficulties to obtain it?"

Once he is past the Slough of Despond, Christian meets Mr. Worldly Wiseman who lives in the town of Carnal Policy. Their discussion is very interesting. One highlight is when Worldly Wiseman asks Christian "How camest thou by the burden at first?" Christian replies, "By reading this book in my hand." How true this is of so many of us. Upon reading God's word, our eyes are opened to the total depravity of our souls. We accurately see the great burden that we carry. But, we also are shown the path to freedom from that great burden. Praise God for His Word!

Worldly Wiseman proceeds to give Christian a 'shortcut' to removing his burden. He offers another path, one of ease and convenience. He sends Christian to the town of Morality to visit Legality and Civility. The picture is very vivid. Christian is pointed down the path of doing good works. The interesting thing is that he approaches the hill which contains the town of Morality he fears that the hill will fall on his head. Just a page or two later this hill is called Mount Sinai (which is where the law was given in the OT). Here we see Christian literally feeling the weight of being under the law. No one can do enough good works. Christian experiences this as he approaches Morality.

Fortunately, Evangelist appears again and confronts Christian. He exposes the errors of Worldly Wiseman's doctrine and sets Christian again on the path toward the wicket-gate.

Your Turn
As you can see, there is so much that can be said concerning this book. I have simply given a few of my personal thoughts. Now it is your turn. What jumped out at you as you read these first few pages? There is no wrong answer. I simply invite you to share with us some of your thoughts.

Next Week
We will discuss Stage Two: The Gate, conversation with Good-Will, the Interpreter's House, Christian entertained, the sights there shown him

Evolution in our Schools (by Stephen Simpson)

On Wednesday, October 24th, The Ledger published an article entitled, "Plan to Require Evolution to Be Taught in Schools." Personally, the article was revolting and very discouraging. On the one hand, I understand that this is to be expected. I shouldn't really be surprised. This sort of thing has been happening all over our country for a long time. On the other hand, it is much more irksome when it hits close to home. This is what will be taught to my daughter if we choose public education for her.

The irony of this is that they (the State Department of Education) would say that they are simply taking religion out of the classroom in favor of science. In reality, what they are doing is forcing religion upon these children. It is a religion that says there is no God. It is a religion that says that there is no higher power. It says there is no supreme authority in this universe. Consider the ramifications of that last statement.

There is another irony in this. Christians are often labeled as being intolerant. We believe that there is one way to heaven and only one way. All other ways are wrong and individuals who follow another path are ultimately headed to hell. That is what we believe and because of that we often are accused of being intolerant of other views. Now we have the State Department of Education doing the same thing. They say that they believe "life, including plants, animals and humans, developed through a series of small changes over very long periods of time." In other words, they believe in evolutionary science and that all other beliefs are wrong. Somehow, they get a pass on being labeled intolerant by the media.

What does this mean for us? For me, it forces me to think long and hard about my daughter's education, even though she is still several years away from beginning school. Do I want my daughter learning in a school system which, beginning in third grade, will teach her that our world came into existence because of some random explosion millions of years ago? Do I want her taught that this theory is the only scientific explanation for how we came into existence? Or, do I want her taught that an All-Powerful Sovereign God created her in His image?

I challenge you to seriously consider this issue and the ramifications of it. Educate yourself. Take an active part in your children's education by becoming aware of what they are being taught.