Possessions and the Historical Books of the OT
August 31, 2010
Last week, I wrote a brief survey of what the Pentateuch (i.e., the first 5 books of the OT) taught about our possessions. This past Sunday I preached from 1 Chronicles 29. Next Sunday I'll touch on what the prophets had to say about material possessions from Isaiah 58. So in this week's paper, I'll again step back and look at the larger landscape surrounding the text I preached last Sunday.
In the Pentateuch, Israel was formed from Abraham and called by Moses from slavery in Egypt to a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. Now in the historical books Israel takes possession of the Pro ... read more
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Possessions and the Pentateuch
August 25, 2010
Last Sunday we explored what Genesis 1 teaches about possessions. Next Sunday we will go to the Historical Books of the Bible, namely 1 Chronicles 29. Before we make this leap let’s pause and consider what the rest of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy) has to say about money and possessions. (If you are familiar with the Pentateuch, you may wish to skip down to the section called “The Wealth of Abraham”.)
What is the Pentateuch?
The Greek word Pentateuch means “five-volumed” and has become the common name for the first 5 books of the Bible. The Hebrew te ... read more
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Possessions and Creation
August 24, 2010
Possessions and Creation
This past Sunday we studied Genesis 1 to learn what the Creation account teaches us about our possessions. Allow me to summarize some of our lessons.
First, there is a fundamental unity in the universe that God has made. Unlike pagan creation accounts, Genesis shows a God who has his hands in the dirt. God creates a world where the spiritual and the material are inseparably bound together. God cares about the material, physical world. In fact, God cares more about this world than some Christians do. The idea that Christianity is about escaping this world is wrong ... read more
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King, Prophet and Priest: How the Church Reflects Christ
October 02, 2009
In his role as mediator, Jesus fulfills three offices: that of a prophet, a priest and a king. A prophet is a herald who proclaims the Word of God. A priest is someone who bridges a relationship between God and man. And a King is one who rules over people. Christ does all three things. The church mirrors Christ in his three offices. I think this is an interesting way to think about the mission and nature of the church.
The church serves a 'kingly' role in good leadership, strategic planning, unified vision, Kingdom advancement and wise administration. The church performs a 'prophetic' role ... read more
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Read Romans
September 23, 2009
I think we’re off to an exciting start with our new sermon series on Romans. Over the last two Sundays we’ve covered the first chapter of the book. (That’s actually moving at a pretty fast pace, considering all we could stop along the way to explore.) I sense that the Lord has already been speaking some deep truths to our hearts in a fresh, new way. We want to keep applying ourselves to Romans until the gospel breaks through and carries us to new levels of worship, community and mission – of loving God and loving others.
So have you read Romans cover to cover yet? Let me encourage you to re ... read more
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Quick Facts about Romans
September 23, 2009
Quick Facts about Romans
Summarized from the ESV Study Bible’s introduction to Romans (by Thomas Schreiner)
• Written by Paul in AD 57
• Written on Paul’s Third Missionary Journey
• Written from the city of Corinth
• Paul had preached through the eastern part of the Roman Empire. Now he wanted to take the gospel to the western part of the Empire, including Rome and Spain.
• Paul sent this letter to Rome in advance of his visit there.
• &n ... read more
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We do not worship the Bible
September 16, 2009
“To Give the Scripture the Place of God Would Be Idolatry”
Ever since I was a small boy I have been going to Estes Park, Colorado to enjoy the beauties of Rocky Mountain National Park. In order to get to Estes Park you have to drive through Denver. Denver is a wonderful city, but it is not my destination. It is simply how I get to Estes Park. It’s vitally important, but it’s not my ultimate stopping place.
Yesterday I received a support letter from a seminary. As I read the letter, it occurred to me that the center of gravity in this seminary’s vision was the Bible. Except for one refer ... read more
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Applying the Bible to your life or applying your life to the Bible?
August 05, 2009
I recently read something that I found helpful. I'll summarize in my own words. If I come at the Bible like an encyclopedia to find help on topics that are of concern to me, I'll often walk away frustrated, disappointed or confused. That's because the Bible isn't a book that lists out all the topics that concern me and then gives me quick, handy advice to help me deal with my life's problems. The Bible is, in essence, a narrative. A grand story. It is the story of God's redemption. It is a story that has more reality to it than me and my life problems. So the goal isn't to apply the Bible to m ... read more
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And now, the rest of the story about Rudy
August 02, 2009
Ok, I used an opening illustration for this morning's sermon, but never closed the loop of what happened to Rudy. Lots of people asked me today, "So what happened to Rudy?" Well, the explosion I heard was not from Rudy. He was fine. An apartment complex two blocks away experienced a gas explosion. The entire second floor of the apartment complex was blown off. There was nothing left of it at all. Amazingly, not a single person was in the building when it exploded, so no one was hurt! I did run downstairs to make sure that Rudy was ok, and in fact he was. So as Paul Harvey used to say, that's t ... read more
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Who ever heard of a church surplus in July during a major recession?
July 30, 2009
What I'm about to share illustrates yet again the goodness and faithfulness of our great God! Most churches follow an annual pattern where they experience a financial shortfall in the summertime and then make a modest comeback in the Fall, and finish the year with extra giving in December that helps them break even by year's end. We've certainly seen that pattern many times at Trinity. But this year is different. There is a severe economic recession. One of my neighbors told me that their senior pastor has taken a significant pay cut and that several staff members of the church have been laid ... read more
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"Practical Grace" sermon series coming in August
July 30, 2009
God’s grace is more than forgiving, it’s also transformational. When God’s grace in Christ touches our lives, it gradually changes our character, our relationships and our attitudes. How is God’s grace being made practical in your own life today? Join us for a five week mini-series on “Practical Grace”. We’ll explore how God’s grace changes our relationships and extends our ability to forgive. We’ll study how grace changes the way we handle finances and generosity, with some practical suggestions on how to deal with the pervasive issue of excessive household debt. Together, we will explore how ... read more
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One more parable to go
July 26, 2009
After about 13 weeks, we have just one Parable to study in our summer sermon series. Today we studied Luke 19:11-27, the Parable of the Ten Minas. Next Sunday we will study Luke 20:9-19, the parable of the wicked tenets. We will then address some various topics of importance to the life of the church in August. Beginning the second Sunday in September, we will study Paul's letter to the Romans. I will be publishing small group questions throughout the sermon series online. So there's a quick preview of what's ahead.
Wasn't it so encouraging today to hear the reports of the missions teams to ... read more
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Mexico and Asia Trips Report This Sunday
July 23, 2009
This Sunday we are going to hear two short term missions trip reports, one from our Mexico team and the other from our East Asia team in our Sunday morning worship service. Each will be about 10 minutes and include video, pictures and singing. I will be giving a brief meditation on the parable of the ten minas from Luke 19. It should be a good time of worship and reflecting on missions.
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Cravity Clarity vs. Trusting God
July 20, 2009
Rich Millhouse, former TPC member and now missionary to Romania, delivered a very edifying sermon yesterday. In his low-key, understated way, Rich painted a powerful picture of trusting God rather than always craving more clarity. Rich in content and poignant in application, Rich's sermon drove the text home to my own heart. Check it out on the sermon audio page or subscribe to the podcast of the weekly sermons at Trinity. Good stuff!
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World Missions Month at Trinity
July 16, 2009
July is shaping up to be World Missions month at Trinity! This coming Sunday (7/19/09), we are privileged to hear from our own Rich & Martha Millhouse, missionaries to Romania. Rich and Martha will be making a missions presentation at 9:00 a.m. in the sanctuary during the Sunday School hour. Rich will then preach at the 10:30 a.m. worship service on “Craving Clarity” from Matthew 14:22-33. Rich and Martha were members of Trinity before leaving for the mission field. In fact, they met here at our church. A large ST Missions Trip team from our church also went to assist their church in Craio ... read more
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Mr. Video Man
July 13, 2009
Several folks have helped us get this new site up and running. Yesterday I realized that we may have failed to mention the contribution of Mr. Video Man, Eric Baesel. Eric is member of Trinity (along with wife Laura and their kids Keira, Carter and Conner), a producer for Insight for Living Ministries (Chuck Swindoll). He shot and edited all of the great videos on the website. The great thing about the video is that they give a real personal touch to the potential visitor to the church. So Eric, thank you very much for your contribution of videos for this new church website. We are very gratef ... read more
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The Unsung Heroes of Sound
July 10, 2009
Every Sunday faithful people work quietly behind the scenes to make our worship and Christian education possible. Ushers, nursery workers, teachers, assistants, greeters and Celebration Chapel workers make the gears of the church turn. But the unsung heroes of the Sound Team deserve special attention this week. Scott Monroe (lead), Scott McNeil and John Hancock manage technology, set up and break down microphones, test equipment and make hearing the Word preached a pleasure each Sunday. Scott Monroe has been hard at work this week to make our sermon audio available on our new website and throu ... read more
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Mexico Team Returns Tomorrow
July 10, 2009
Be in prayer for our Satillo, Mexico team. They return to Trinity tomorrow. Pray for safe and smooth travels home. We will have a Sunday towards the end of July where we will hear some reports from the team to Mexico and far East Asia. We're also excited to have a missionary sent from TPC many years ago, Rich Millhouse, visit us from Romania and preach on Sunday, July 19th. Rich is a great preacher and I'm particularly looking forward to that weekend.
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A Special Communion Service
July 10, 2009
This last Sunday the Lord's Supper was an unusually special time of worship. I saw more tears and received more positive emails about this past Sunday's Communion than I think I ever have before. We did a few things different. First, everyone came forward and received the elements personally from an elder. It gave the elder an opportunity to look each member in the eye and minister to them personally by saying, "This is the body of Christ, broken for you." Second, I stood at the front center in a position where everyone had to pass me on their way back to their seats. This gave me the opportun ... read more
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Happy birthday, John!
July 10, 2009
John Calvin was born 500 years ago today. His influence and legacy is, to say the least, immeasurable. Though he had flaws (and he shared those flaws with many in his own generation), he was primarily a man of the Bible. People often think of the Institutes of Christian Religion when they think of Calvin, but his massive commentaries on nearly the whole Bible probably says even more about the man and what he emphasized in his public ministry. There are lots of web sites and tributes to him all over the internet. A great biography is the one by T. H. L. Parker. I think Desiring God Ministries i ... read more
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Welcome to Our Blog
July 09, 2009
Welcome to my new blog and to our church’s new website. Doesn’t it look great!? Many kudos to Ben Geist and Dave Leeman especially for their hard work in getting all this together. Dave has been our point man in gathering all kinds of creative ideas and getting all the parts to move together toward a launch. (Thanks for pushing us, Dave!) Ben has been our graphics and technical guru. If you want to see how talented our own Ben Geist is on graphics, just take a look at Max McLean’s website to see his professional handiwork (http://www.listenersbible.com). Ben, thanks! Mark Knam has also done a ... read more
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