.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

pastorway

And He Himself gave some to be....evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ...
- Ephesians 4:11-12

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO www.timeintheword.org

My Photo
Name:
Location: The Hill Country of Texas

Pastor - Providence Reformed Baptist Church
Director - TIME in the Word Ministries

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Far as the curse is found


Joy to the World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! the Saviour reigns:
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.

John 1:1-5; 14

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.

In Him was life,
and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

It's TIME to get real about Christmas

Two special messages today from Jonathan Hunt focusing on the truth about the incarnation celebrated this time of year around the world.

The Everlasting Son of God - Micah 5:2

A simple study to consider this wonderful prophecy of the coming Messiah, encouragements and insights for us. We consider Christ's eternal existence, and his rule over all things. We review several features of Christ's coming revealed here, and reveal the greatness of the government of Christ as our glorious Prince. We also see that He is our peace, even when 'the enemy is in the land'


Time to Get Real about Christmas - Isaiah 40:4-5

We all know the traditional version of the 'Christmas Story' - but so much of it is not supported by scripture. What DOES the Bible say about why Christ came? Who is He? Why did He come? What does it have to do with us today?

Labels: ,

Monday, December 17, 2007

The Death of a Saint

The next message in Jonathan Hunt's sermon series from Genesis is taken from Genesis 23 and titled The Death of a Saint.

In this message we consider the life and death of Sarah, Abraham's wife. We understand that Sarah 'died in faith' from Hebrews 11. Have we thought carefully about whether this is how we will die? A useful maxim is 'To die IN faith, live BY faith'. We also look at Abraham's careful purchase of a burial place, and learn once more from his example as he deals with death in a godly way.

Labels: ,

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Politics and Religion

Here in the United States we are in what seems to be the middle of a political campaign when in fact the first presidential primaries are still a month away. Seemingly endless debates, decisions determined by sound bites, and the ever present discussion about what exactly the church's role in politics should be leave many tired, others preturbed, and a few who act like a child who just ate a box of cookies and drank a gallon of red kool-aid. Some live for politics. Others dread all of this as a necessary evil and see a best case scenario where we are required to do our civic duty and discern the lesser of two evils. The candidates are judged by their positions, how often they change those positions, and how well they communicate their views and how convincingly they make their promises. There are values voters, the religious right, the liberal left, neo-conservatives, libertarians, moderates, constitutionalists, democrats, republicans, independents, and a lot of wackos. The base must be appeased. The fringe pandered to. And the undecideds lured to one side or the other.

Well, lest I go on and on like a politician let me get to my point. I was reviewing a few blogs and a few email lists I am a part of and a thought struck me. Just popped right in my head. Before I reveal that thought though I must mention that I have read and heard a lot of good, a lot of bad, and quite a bit of ugly lately when it comes to politics and religion. I have not decided how I will vote yet (and when I do decide I promise I won't blog about it), but many in the reformed and "evangelical" world (I use the term as loosely as it has come to be defined) are taking lots of time to talk about why we should vote for their candidate. The debates are heated, the logic impressive, and the stubborness quite amusing at times. But with all the talk about politics and religion I am concerned.

So what was it that hit me like a bolt of lighting?

How many of us lately have been better evangelists for our candidate than for our Savior?

The time, money, effort, zeal, words, arguments, debates, fact finding, passion, and all the rest that we spend pushing our favorite politician is embarassing when compared to the time, money, effort, zeal, etc, that we have given for the preaching and living of the gospel.

Politics and elections are not a bad thing. But I am afraid we are acting as if the politicians were our saviors. And no matter who they are or who we elect it is God who raises the nations up or puts them down. And it is not our elected leaders who influence God's will in the matter. It is whether we the people repent of our sin and turn back to Him.

Discussion and debate can be useful and good but the words of our mouth reveal the true condition of our heart. What do our lips (and typing hands) tell us about who we are trusting to save us?

Labels: ,

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Religious Scholars

"Until a man has received the divine life, his remarks thereon, even if he be an archbishop, go for nothing." -- CH Spurgeon