INTRODUCTION: We come now to the conclusion of Amos, at least in the form of going through it passage by passage. Next week we will look at the book as a whole, and then some applications—Amos for Americans. THE TEXT: “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of …
CREC Summer Stuff
One of the heartening signs of future growth in the CREC has been the development of summer camps for our young people, thereby indicating that we are having to deal with more and more of them. One was Summer Sanctus, a montage of which is below. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have two separate …
No. Just In Your Case
When we gather together like this, we are gathering as the people of liberty. But two other l’s are constantly beckoning—those of legalism and license. Having the history we do, we have little trouble rejecting legalism, but in our emphasis on Christian liberty, we often—especially among our young people—veer into license. When this starts to …
Without Guilt, Without Shame, Without Fear
Our modern world is full of eating disorders of various kinds. These range from the obvious, like gluttony, anorexia and bulimia, to the not so obvious, like being way too obedient and servile to the latest food guru. These problems rest on a common foundation, which is father hunger, coupled with the resultant guilt and …
For He Is Small/Amos 8
INTRODUCTION: When we come to chapter seven of Amos, we shift from poetry to prose, from woe-oracles to narrative. The theme and the message are the same as throughout the rest of the book, but the form in which it comes is quite different. In the first six chapters, Yahweh has been the main speaker; …
In Every Generation
This word of exhortation is addressed to our young people, to those of you who have been growing up in the covenant. Most of you are in a very different position than your parents—they have been on a pilgrimage from unbelief, or from other, very distinct expressions of Christian faith. For them, as a matter …
Administering the Sacraments
The sacraments are ordinances of the Church; in other words, they are one of the things that makes church into Church. As such, the authority to oversee their administration, and the teaching that accompanies their administration, lies with the government of the Church. This is why the Westminster Confession restricts administration of the sacraments to …
A Seven-fold Woe/Amos 7
INTRODUCTION: In this passage, we begin part way through chapter five, and continue on through the entirety of chapter six. Amos eloquently continues to hammer away at the two things that turn God’s stomach—false worship and an opulent, violent stupidity. THE TEXT: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! . . .” …
This is What We Do
The structure of our worship service follows what we call a covenant renewal pattern. First, there is a call to worship, where God’s people are solemnly called to order in the name of Christ, making this a worship service. When we do this, the Holy Spirit gathers us up and escorts us into the heavenly …
Then Come to Christ
We are continuing to reflect on what our doctrinal standards—the teachings of the Westminster Confession—say about the sacraments. A striking thing about our standards is that they say that the Old Testament contained sacraments, and not only the New Testament. In the New, we have two sacraments, but the number of sacraments in the Old …