As a new year starts, I wanted to remind you of the opportunity presented in our parish discipleship groups, which will start up in early September. As always, this is a get to, not a got to. These groups are certainly not the only way to live out the church’s vision, but we hope those …
God Deals With Us
Observing the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis makes it a central event in our lives. As we have said a number of times, God deals with us here, and He deals with us according to His Word, and not according to ours. If we are struggling against His work in us here, the temptation …
But Sometimes Your Inner Pietist is Right
You can take a drop from a bottle of vinegar, put it on the tip of your tongue, and tell what is in the rest of the bottle. You don’t need to drink the whole thing to make sure. And this relates to a basic question in pastoral counseling. “What’s your mouth like?” And Jesus …
The Apostles Creed 7: Our Lord
Introduction: The foundational Christian confession is that Jesus is Lord. We find this at the very beginning, and there is no hope without it. As we have been making our way through the Creed, we have addressed who Jesus is. But what do we mean by Lord? The Text: I believe in God the Father …
Individually and Together
The Church of Jesus Christ is a corporate body, a covenanted reality. Together, we are the bride of Christ, organically connected to all who love Jesus Christ all over the world and throughout history. We are the Church. We are also individual Christians. And we know that, while the elect are saved, not everyone who …
Feeding or Devouring
When we come to this Table in the demeanor of faith, we are not just nourishing ourselves. Rather, the entire Body is being nourished and built up to the extent that various parts of the Body are receiving this gift in true evangelical faith. Coming to the Lord’s Table rightly is not a way for …
The Apostles Creed 6: His Only Begotten Son
Introduction: What we know as orthodoxy is of course taught in the Bible. But that does not mean that every orthodox truth is found everywhere in the Bible, or that every verse that is used to defend an orthodox truth is being used appropriately. This means we should look at familiar passages carefully, making sure …
Quick Lies
God is the God of all truth, and so of course, we as His people should be careful to speak the truth. One area where we sometimes neglect this duty is in an area that might be called “quick lies.” They don’t even seem like lies at all unless you take them out in the …
The Central Table
This is the Table, and it has its rightful place at the center of our lives. What we do here sets the tone for what we do at every other table. This Table is the rudder; it guides and directs all our other table fellowship. If we are hypocritical here, we will be hypocritical around …
All Together Now
Last week at this time I mentioned that ritual actions are important to us. They are significant in the Bible, and we don’t ever want to fall into the trap of relegating them to the status of being insignificant. But there is another important element in all of this. We are gathered together as an …