Grace Covenant Church

Grace Covenant Church
2101 East 50th Street, Texarkana, AR

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Another Fruit of the Reformation--the King James Bible


A great study of history, literature, and theology.
This year, 2011, marks four hundred years since the King James Bible was first published. At this time, when we focus upon the Reformation, we should also remember the blessings of the King James Bible. Although the publication of the King James Bible occurred nearly one hundred years after Luther posted the 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenberg, both events are closely linked.


The greater significance of Luther’s hammer and nails is the chain reaction of events that followed. The Reformation was not a one man show or even a two or four man show. What made the Reformation world-changing and on-going was the many sparks that it ignited across Europe and across time.

The battle for the Bible in English is a rich and tumultuous story. The very fact that James Stuart, who was James I of England and James VI of Scotland, is associated with a faithful translation of the Bible is richly ironic in many ways. Although he was well trained theologically, morally he was degenerate. His leadership style is antithetical to imitation. Otto Scott said that his name being attached to a Bible is a blasphemous joke.

King James threatened to “harry the Puritans out of the land.” This statement illustrates the several great accomplishments of his troubled reign, all of which came about in opposition to his personal and theological preferences. He helped create a Puritan commonwealth in the New World. He fortified Puritans in England, and he commissioned a Bible to blunt the edge of Puritan theology (by countering the Geneva Bible). One is stunned into seeing the Sovereign God ruling history for His own glory when contemplating England during the time of the Stuart kings. (And such a vision for history should give us some comfort in our own leadership-challenged times.)

Dr. Leland Ryken has written a book that highlights and celebrates the history and influence of the King James Bible. The book is titled The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential English Translation.  This book is published by Crossway Books (one of my favorite publishers).

Continue Reading...

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Announcements for the Rest of October


Dear Congregation:

Thank God for the cooler weather of this past week.  We have many things happening at church and about to happen.  We hope to see all of you at church tomorrow.  If you cannot be there and you have special needs (health or otherwise), let us know.

1.  If anyone would like to listen to Zach Ramsey's funeral service, you can do so:  http://feastofbooths.blogspot.com/2011/10/zach-ramseys-funeral-service.html.
Also, Becky is keeping the Caringbridge website open for a remaining time.  While she is staying in Little Rock, you can still leave a message for her on http://www.caringbridge.org/ar/zachramsey/.

2.  The REFORMATION FALL FEST begins this weekend.  We will be having announcements at church tomorrow about this event.  As always, this is an occasion to fellowship, enjoy lots of food, watch our kids play, hear some of our own musical talents, and rejoice in the fruits of Reformation. 

3.  Next Sunday, October 30, we will be having our worship service at King's Pavilion.  The crisp morning air, the still calm of the lake, and the surroundings of trees all combine to enhance our time to praise God in songs, prayers, and the hearing of God's Word and the celebration of Christ's atonement through the Lord's Supper.  (There will be no Sunday School that day.  The service will begin at 10:30.)

4.  On Reformation Sunday, we will be devoting a portion of the service to remembering Christians we know who have gone to be with Christ during the past year.  This is in anticipation of All Saints Day on Tuesday, November 1. 
All Saints' Day  is traditionally a time when the Church remembers all who suffered and died for the faith. Following the Reformation, Protestants have affirmed that all believers are saints, and the November commemoration has been used to honor all those who died in the faith of Jesus Christ.
Please tell Ben or fill out the form at church if there is a relative or close friend who you wish to be remembered. The church members who are now with Christ will be remembered for certain.

4.  We are now beginning a new mission work.  Canned foods gathered for the Hero's Pantry was a blessing for us to participate in.  Now, along with many churches and Christians across the country, we will be assembling gift boxes through a program called Samaritan's Purse.  (http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/)

5.  We have information available about church for guiding you in prayers for persecuted Christians and about the plight of a fellow CREC pastor, San Sanych, in Ukraine who continually faces numerous hardships and was recently hit by a drunk driver.  Let us increase our prayers and support for missions.

6.  For our own church family, we will continue with the special offering for the Ramseys.  They have had lots of travel expenses, losses of income due to time off from jobs, and funeral expenses. 

7.  This Wednesday Night:  October 26
Food and Fellowship, 5:30--6:30 ($3 a person or $15 for a family)
Be Sure to Sign Up For The Meal.Kids’ Quest Catechism Club (6:30--7:30)
Adult Study: “Recovering the Beauty of the Arts” part 5,
“Music: The Handmaiden of Theology” by Dr. R.C. Sproul (6:30--7:30)

8.  If you are not receiving church emails, please sign up at the following location:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GCCTexarkana/join

9.  We are continuing to add to the available books for purchase.  See the table in the hall at church.  See Ben for purchase information.  If you need a book to give to someone, see Ben about that also.

10.  Let us know about any matters needing to be put on the November calendar or any hymns you wish to hear in November.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Christ Becomes the Wild Man of the Gadarenes for Us

The hill country of Gadara
I hope the sermon Sunday on the healing of the demon-possessed man was helpful to you.  Working on it and thinking through the passage was a personal blessing to me.  Sometimes laboring over a sermon is a battle between the Word on the one hand and the world, the flesh, and the devil on the other hand.  On other occasions, the labor is a pure delight.
Since Sunday, I have continued to think about the passage from Mark 5.  I have recently been reading sermons by Pator Philip Graham Ryken.  Dr. Ryken was pastor of 10th Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, but is now president of Wheaton. (My interest is his writings has increased of late.)  Dr. Ryken always brings his sermons back to the saving work of Christ.  While I believe that I emphasized just that sort of message Sunday, I want to share a further insight on this passage and the salvation we have through Christ Alone.
As we know, Jesus took our place on the cross.  He became a man and took our sins.  Paul sharpens the language of subsitutionary atonement in 2 Corinthians 5:21 when he says, "For our sake, He made Him to be sin." 
The story of the wild demon possessed man of the Gadarenes is a picture of what Jesus becomes for us.  That man received a "partial" salvation in that story.  The full story of his salvation is the cross.  Jesus Christ took on the wild and savage elements and condition of that man on the cross.
Consider:
1.  The wild man lived in the tombs or cemetary of a barren and hostile land.  Jesus went to the cross on the barren and death-like hill of Golgatha.  Golgatha possibly means "skull," which indicates the harsh and frightening place that it was.
2.  The wild man was bound by chains, which he broke loose from.  Jesus was bound by soldiers and later bound on the cross.  He had the strength to break loose.  Legions of angels were ready to attack. Unlike the wild man who would break the bounds, Jesus submitted to them.
3.  The wild man screamed and cut himself and suffered many agonies.  Christ was tortured before and during the execution on the cross.  He was, in contrast, like a lamb before the slaughter.
4.  The wild man wore no clothes.  Jesus was stripped of His garments when He was crucified.
5.  Judgment fell on the demons in the Bible narrative.  Judgment fell on Christ at the cross. 
6.  The demons entered the herd of pigs who plunged into the sea.  Christ took on the sins of the world and, as we say in the Creed, descended into Hell.
7.  The ordeal ends with the wild man being restored, clothed, and sitting with Jesus.  The cross leds to the resurrection.  Christ is clothed in glory and sits, as we affirm each week, at the right hand of God the Father.
8.  The healed man then goes out to the region proclaiming the salvation.  Jesus Christ, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, goes out to the nations.
As I emphasized Sunday, this story from Mark 5 is not merely an account of Jesus reaching a really warped and twisted individual.  This is an account of Jesus reaching us.  Jesus became the wild man of the Gadarenes, in a sense.  He became the sinful people we are.  We gather to worship, robed in His righteousness, and in our right minds only because of what He did for us.
This should fill us with great joy as we gather this Sunday to celebrate the next Sola of the Reformation:  Grace Alone.
Pray for all in our midst who are hurting, struggling, and stumbling.  Encourage one another as you see the day approaching.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Announcements for the Week of October 2-8

 Happenings for the Week

Sunday, Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 2, 2011
Sunday School, 9:30am & Worship, 10:40am

FELLOWSHIP MEAL AFTER THE WORSHIP SERVICE

Officers Meeting will be at 1:30.
All members are invited to attend or to convey concerns to the officers.

Tuesday, October 4
Mens Bible Study
In the Humanities Room at 7:00 PM.
See Brian Hawthorne for details.

Wednesday, October
Food and Fellowship, 5:30--6:30 ($3 a person or $15 for a family)
Be Sure to Sign Up For The Meal.
Kids’ Quest Catechism Club (6:30--7:30)
Adult Study: “Recovering the Beauty of the Arts” part 3,
“Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?” by Dr. R.C. Sproul (6:30--7:30)

Friday, October 7
Youth Meeting at the Church at 6:00p.m.
“Do Hard Things”
Bring Money for Supper



Servant Hosts for todays Fellowship Meal are the Pickard Family and the McReynolds Family.

Reformation Fall Fest will be October 28-30






Todays Communion Hymn, “God is a Stronghold and a Tower,” is Elizabeth Wordsworths 1893 translation of “Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott” by Martin Luther. We commonly sing the 1853 Frederic Hedge translation. Wordsworth translated many of Luthers hymns into English. Rest assured that we will be singing our normal version, “A Mighty Fortress,” at least twice in this month. Today, we will be having the more contemporary version (1893) to enjoy the slightly different nuances of the great Reformers hymn.