Lenten Reflections--The Blood of Christ

Lenten Season Reflections

The New Testament uses the concept of Christ’s blood as a way of describing His sacrificial death and what it accomplished.  It makes several affirmations about Christ’s blood:

• Acts 20:28: God acquired the church through Christ’s blood.
• Romans 3:25:  God publicly set Christ forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood.
• Romans 5:9: Christians have been justified by Christ’s blood.
• Ephesians 1:7: Christians have redemption through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of trespasses.
• Ephesians 2:12-13: Gentiles have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
• Colossians 1:20: God was pleased to reconcile all things to Himself and make peace through the blood of Christ.
• Hebrews 9:12:  Christ entered the Most Holy place once for all through His own blood.
• Hebrews 9:14:  The blood of Christ cleanses our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.
• I Peter 1:2: God’s elect were chosen for sprinkling by the blood of Jesus Christ.
• I John 1:7: “The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
• Revelation 1:5:  Christ loved us and freed us from our sins by His blood.
• Revelation 5:9-10: Christ purchased for God by His blood men from every tribe and language and people and nations, and made for God a kingdom and priests who will reign on earth.

[Adapted from A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith by Robert L. Reymond.]

Donate-A-Smile

Dr. Rick Skowronski

On Sunday, March 25, we will be hosting Dr. Rick Skowronski and his wife Joe'l.  Dr. Skowronski will be talking about the mission work of Donate-A-Smile.  http://www.donateasmile.org/about_us.php

This organization will be sending a medical missionary team to the Central African Republic in April.  Pray for this mission and for the fundraising efforts needed to make this possible.

Out to Pasture, Part 2

Currently, these are the places where I have been enjoying spiritual feasts:

Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ by John MacArthur highlights those many times that Scripture reminds us that we are SLAVES, not just servants or bond-servants, to Jesus Christ.  And, amazingly, that is our Freedom.  Prior to that, we were slaves to sin.

This book is also a powerful defense of the Doctrines of Grace, or what we often refer to as the Five Points of Calvinism.  This is not a TULIP exposition, but the doctrines of total inability and irresistable grace and perseverance of the saints are all ably supported.  What a great blend of theological and exegetical study with devotional encouragement. 

I do not recommend that you read this book:  I am planning on borrowing extensively from it for future sermons!

Still reading from Eugene Peterson's delightful and really soul-shaking Pastor: A Memoir.

THE CHALLENGE: Bible Readings for January 1-7

Sunday, January 1: 

 Genesis 1-2

Matthew 1-2

Psalms 1

Monday, Jan. 2

Genesis  3-4

Matthew 3-4

Psalms 2

Tuesday, Jan. 3

Genesis  5-6 

Matthew 5

Psalms 3

Wednesday, Jan. 4

Genesis 7-8

Matthew 6

Psalms 4

Thursday, Jan. 5

Genesis 9-10

Matthew 7

Psalms 5

Friday, Jan. 6

Genesis 11-12

Matthew 8

Psalms 6

Saturday, Jan. 7

Genesis 13-15

Matthew 9

Psalms 7

Did you get this week's readings done?  Celebrate with a Starbucks coffee or Bluebell icecream and rejoice in God's blessings.



Happy New Year

Resolution One: I will live for God.

Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.

Jonathan Edwards

 

Dear Congregation:

 

We hope you all enjoy ringing out the old year and bringing in the new.  A new year is a great time to renew commitments, make good resolutions, and seek to serve Christ more faithfully.

 

Several announcements concerning worship tomorrow:

 

1.  No Sunday school.  Worship service will begin at 10:40.  The break from Sunday school has been nice in light of Advent services, but it will also be great to get back to the routine next week.

 

2.  No Fellowship Meal tomorrow.  Many members have other family events to attend. 

 

3.  We will have a Fellowship Meal next Sunday, January 8. 

 

4.  We will also be announcing other January plans tomorrow.  These include the resumption of Kids' Quest and a renewed prayer focus for the church.

 

5.  Today's bulletin and announcement will go to print shortly, but let me know of anything we need to include for announcements and prayer requests in future weeks.

 

A CHALLENGE:

 

One my birthday, last Wednesday, Dec. 28, (Thanks to all who called or left FB messages.) I bought the Daily Reading Bible, English Standard Version.  It is designed for reading through the Bible in a year.  Actually, the program in this Bible is reading the Old Testament once, the New Testament twice, and the Book of Psalms twice.

 

This version of the Bible is on sale at Lifeway Books for six dollars.  Other versions of a "through the Bible in one year" are also available.  Guides for daily reading can be found in the backs of some study Bibles and on numerous Internet sites.  So, you can use the Bible you have for this.

 

My yearly Bible reading usually involves reading and rereading certain parts of the Bible.  This past year I read the New Testament in the King James Version because it was the 400 year anniversary of the publication of the King James Version.  I also read portions of the Old Testament. 

 

The  Bible does not include a command to read it over the year in a certain method.  You can read the Old Testament, or the New Testament, or portions of both.   One could, for example, just carefully read the Gospels or the Epistles.  But there is a place for reading the whole work from cover to cover.

 

I encourage you to join me in my plan to read through the whole Bible.  I hope to accomplish the goal of the Daily Reading Bible, which as stated above is OT once with NT and Psalms twice.  I might fail.  I may only get through the NT once and about half of the OT. 

 

Let us see how many of us can publicly commit to trying to read from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 this year. 

Let us see how we can encourage one another and keep one another accountable. 

You have permission to fail, permission to fall short, permission to fall down and get up again.

 

See you at church tomorrow.  Happy and Christ-centered New Year's Eve. 

 

And another thing, if you stay up to see the New Year arrive, take time to offer up a prayer for not only your family, but our church.  2011 was a trying time.  God's hand was heavy upon us, but He never left us.

Dr. Francis Nigel Lee--Brilliant Christian Thinker: RIP

Dr. Francis Nigel Lee, RIP

A brilliant thinker and zealous Christian, Francis Nigel Lee

One of my theological heroes has died.  Dr. Francis Nigel Lee died on December 23 in Australia.  He was age 77.  I was just recently thinking about him because I mailed him a copy of my book just a couple of months back.  I don't know if he ever got it or got to look at it.  When I offered to send it, he sent me his address and said to send it "duly inscribed."  It was my honor to send it.

For an interesting account of Dr. Lee's life, go this this link:
http://biblicallandmarks.com/wpl/friend-to-remember/

More of my experiences in reading the books and corresponding with Dr. Lee are found on my blog:
To continue reading this post...click here.

Sunday's Sermon--I Have Already Forgotten

I don't know how it is with other preachers, but I believe that God put me in ministry so that I would be forced to pray, read, think, speak, and remember essential things.  Most of my sermons are designed primarily for me and secondarily for the congregation.  I am the slowest to hear, the slowest to understand, and the slowest to respond.  My prayer is that my time spent talking to myself in the front of the church sanctuary each Sunday will also be of help to others.

Here we are on Wednesday during the week before Christmas, and I must admit, that not once, not twice, but many times, I have already forgotten or have disregarded what I preached Sunday.

Here are the closing words, the main application of that sermon:

The lesson to be learned: Take time.
Maybe in the mornings, maybe in the evenings, maybe on the day after Christmas.
Hopefully right now: Enjoy, relax, meditate, think, marvel.
In the mad rush of the season, Take time.

So far, I have been rushed, distracted, exhausted, stressed, irritated, and even mildly depressed.  So, I need to listen to myself and Take time.  I need to enjoy the birth of Christ, relax in God's goodness, meditate on God's grace, and marvel at the Incarnation.

The sermon, or at least most of it, is posted here.