Sermoner Setup for Tony Cooper at Grace Church

Sorry I got this to you late. I was having technical problems. Tony Cooper, an elder of Grace Church will be preaching this Sunday. Come to learn and feast on the Word of God.

- Daniel

New Berea Class Beginning September 13

Our adult (teens included) Sunday school class will begin a new book starting September 13th led by pastor Dave VanAcker. This class takes place before the worship service at 9 AM. A nursery and kids classes are running at the same time.

The new class will cover the subject of learning how to read and study the Bible by yourself and the book we will be using is Gordon Fee's How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth (I highly suggest your invest in buying this book). Here is some more information about the book:

Check Out RESOLVED 2009 Conference

I recommend you downloading some of the sermons from the 2009 Resolved Conference that took place last week in Palm Springs.

At least check out the Trailer below. I have also copied the sermon links for you to access easily.

Resolved 2009

Resolved 2009

• The War Against Your Soul
  • MP3
  • Rick Holland
    
  • Fri, Jun 12, 2009
  Purchase Video
• Blessed Bankruptcy
  • MP3
  • Steve Lawson
    
  • Sat, Jun 13, 2009
  Purchase Video
• Who’s Really at Work?
  • MP3
  • C.J. Mahaney
    
  • Sat, Jun 13, 2009
  Purchase Video
• Enfield Concert (unavailable)
  • MP3
  • Enfield
    
  • Sat, Jun 13, 2009
• Blessed Purity
  • MP3
  • Steve Lawson
    
  • Sun, Jun 14, 2009
  Purchase Video
• A Theology of Creation
  • MP3
  • John MacArthur
    
  • Sun, Jun 14, 2009
  Purchase Video
• God’s Sovereignty Over Satan’s Fall
  • MP3
  • John Piper
    
  • Sun, Jun 14, 2009
  Purchase Video
• A Biblical Strategy For Fighting Sexual Sin
  • MP3
  • Rick Holland
    
  • Mon, Jun 15, 2009
  Purchase Video
• The Sanctifying Shepherd
  • MP3
  • John MacArthur
    
  • Mon, Jun 15, 2009
  Purchase Video
• The Troubled Soul
  • MP3
  • C.J. Mahaney
    
  • Mon, Jun 15, 2009
  Purchase Video
• How Sin Serves the Glory of Christ
  • MP3
  • John Piper
    
  • Mon, Jun 15, 2009
  Purchase Video

Mother's Day and My Sermon - Reflecting God

Heads up husbands, fathers, children - Sunday is Mother's Day if you didn't already know that.

This Sunday, Lord willing, I will be preaching on a subject I talked to the MOMs and MORE group about - "Motherhood as a Reflection of God."

One of my texts is Isaiah 49:13-16.

Mothers are made in the image of God.
I want to look at how motherhood uniquely reflects the glory of God as well as the practical implications of this truth to mothers, husbands of mothers, children of mothers and the Gospel.

Please pray for me and for the body at Grace Church.

Stay Away from "Shack" Like Thinking

I know this is a little late - The Shack has been out for quite some time. I admit that I have not read the book cover to cover, but I have listened to more than half of it (including the end which has the author's explanation). My wife would say that I have a strong stomach (so does my side of the family) but even I couldn't keep this book down. I couldn't help but gag several times as I contemplated the books sentimental and sappy view of the Trinity. I realize that we often have a wrong view of God and we need our shallow views challenged - but the The Shack's different view is in the wrong direction (think Dr. Phil, Oprah and Richard Simmons).

For a brief intro and perspective on the bad theology of this massively popular book see this video by Mark Driscoll.



If you want to read more on this book from a theological and biblical perspective, I encourage you to read the lengthy review by Tim Challies. If you haven't bookmarked it all ready, his website Discerning Reader is a very helpful website for books.

Sermon - Holiness of God

This Sunday (April 19, 2009) I preached on the Holiness of God.

My text was from Isaiah 6:1-8.

Here is my sermon manuscript.

Here is the sermon audio -- "A Vision of the Holiness of God."
(Right click and save to download)

Again, I strongly recommend R. C. Sproul's The Holiness of God.

Worthy of Every Lofty Adjective

I like what my father-in-law (Terry Carlson) wrote to me this weekend as he prayed for my sermon on the holiness of God this Sunday:

When I think on all the reflections of God's glory in the universe(Psa 19; Isa 40; Psa 8) they are of themselves worthy of every lofty adjective [emphasis mine] we can lay to it--awesome, majestic, incredible, powerful, magnificent, beautiful, stunning, etc. But what amazes me about this thought is that the stunning reality of the universe and all created things is but a dim reflection, a teaspoonful of God's glory. It is simply beyond our human comprehension to fully appreciate our glorious God and Saviour and Creator. But He is my holy hero and I want to spend eternity with no one else.

This Sunday - "A Vision of the Holiness of God"

This Sunday I plan on preaching on the holiness of God. Regardless of what you might think, the holiness of God is the most relevant subject for any person of any age at any time.

The sermon text for this Sunday will be Isaiah 6:1-8. I pray that God would increase my practical knowledge of the holiness of God and would fill His congregation with a vision of His holiness that would leave us forever changed.

In college I read the classic -- The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul. This week I had the privilege of reading it again. If you don't have it and have not read it I strongly urge you to read it (you can order it here).

When we truly see the "Lord, high and lifted up" as He really is it will transform us forever. Until we see God as He really is (and not how we have fashioned him in our minds), we will never see ourselves as we really are (which we see ourselves with a foolish grandiose blur).

Truly beholding the holiness of God will transform the way we live, love, trust, see, suffer, grieve, hear, hate, weep, laugh, think, hope, desire, dream, invest, wait, worship and serve.

Holy Spirit, grant us eyes to see the Glory of the Father in the face of Jesus -- do in mercifully, lest we be consumed. Amen.

Memorizing the Bible with Your Kids

I, like many of you, know that I should give myself to the discipline of memorizing Scripture but don't do it very well. If you have kids, I encourage you to start memorizing the Bible with them. Start with the Psalms.

Over the past few months we have memorized Psalm 23 and now we are working through Psalm 34.

Psalms are a great place to start because of the rythmn and verse length. We spend time talking about the content of the verse that we are memorizing and we review, review, review. If we work with the kids daily (I am talking about pre-school kids) we can start a new verse from the Psalms every fourth day (so 3 days on one verse). Here is an example:

Day 1 on Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..." I say it five times with the kids. Then I talk about what a shepherd is. I talk about what a good shepherd does. I talk about who our true shepherd really is--Jesus. I talk about how we are like sheep and need a shepherd. I talked about how he takes care of us and provides for us. Then we review it again several times. We say it together with a whisper. We say it very loudly (they usually like to scream). We say it while we are walking in place...etc. I ask them to try to say it and they stumble through it will some help. I try to start incorporating this Psalm into my prayers with them.

Day 2-3: We review it and let each kid say the verse by themselves. I usually have them stand on the hope chest in our living room and if they get it right they get to jump off the chest and into my arms. From there they get tossed unto the couch and tickled by their daddy. Big time reward!

Day 4: We continue to review verse 1 and move on to verse 2 - "He makes me lie down in green pastures." Ok, what does that mean kids?" We say it five times and in all sorts of ways (making believe we are eating, driving, playing, singing, etc.). Then we move to the next phrase - "He leads me beside still waters." We repeat that phrase several times, then put the two phrases together and say it several more times. During this time I lead them by asking questions and teaching them how God leads us into green pastures and besides still waters. Usually with a little help they are ready to say verses 1 and part of verse 2 already. Days 5-6 reinforce these two verses and by that time you are ready for verse three - "He restores my soul. He leads me in paths..." Always keep reviewing the previous verses.

Both Molly and I have found this both edifying to our young children and probably even more to mom and dad.

Here is my three year old (Elijah James Edwards Patz) saying Psalm 23. Currently, he doesn't want to be thrown on the couch.



Sometimes the last word is quite tricky...

Preaching Regeneration

Main Entry: re·gen·er·a·tion

Pronunciation: \ri-ˌje-nə-ˈrā-shən, ˌrē-\

Function: noun Date: 14th century

Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) defines regeneration as the "secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us." It is sometimes called -- "being born again" (John 3:3-8).

In heart preparation for my sermon last Saturday night I read Charles Spurgeon's sermon from 1857 called "Regeneration." In his intro he writes:

I must offer the same excuse, then, for bringing before you this morning the subject of regeneration. It is one of absolute and vital importance; it is the hinge of the gospel; it is the point upon which most Christians are agreed, yea, all who are Christians in sincerity and truth. It is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation. It is the very groundwork of our hopes for heaven, and as we ought to be very careful of the basement of our structure, so should we be very diligent to take heed that we are really born again, and that we have made sure work of it for eternity. There are many who fancy they are born again who are not. It well becomes us, then, frequently to examine ourselves; and it is the minister’s duty to bring forward those subjects which lead to selfexamination, and have a tendency to search the heart and try the reins of the children of men. (Spurgeon, Regeneration, PSP – Vol 3)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy CAUSED US TO BE BORN AGAIN..." (1 Peter 1:3)

Frist Great and Primary Business of the Day

Here is a great quote from George Mueller's Autobiography.

The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit (Autobiography of George Mueller, compiled by Fred Bergen, [London: J. Nisbet Co., 1906], pp. 152-154].

"Me and My Bible"

For my first "two blog day" I'd like to draw your attention to another couple of thoughts that I got from Justin Taylor who got them from Michael Horton and Larry Woiwode. Both quotes are very wise in my estimation.

Michael Horton: "The best way to guard a true interpretation of Scripture, the Reformers insisted, was neither to naively embrace the infallibility of tradition, or the infallibility of the individual, but to recognize the communal interpretation of Scripture. The best way to ensure faithfulness to the text is to read it together, not only with the churches of our own time and place, but with the wider 'communion of saints' down through the age."

Larry Woiwode: "There is rugged terrain ahead for those who are constitutionally incapable of referring to the paths marked out by wise and spirit-filled cartographers over the centuries."

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/10/why-just-me-and-my-bible-is.html

Pastor Dave

Memorizing Ephesians

Lord willing, this Sunday I will begin a sermon series on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. 

I am not yet sure how long the series is going to take but I plan to memorize this great letters as I go and I want to invite you to join me.  

Here is a good article about memorizing extended passages of Scriptures - how to and why? 

The first few sermons I will start with fewer verses but it will pick up as we go--that is my guess. 

My verse week is on Ephesians 1:1-2

Week 2 - Ephesians 1:3-4

Week 3 - Ephesians 1:5-6

Week 4 - Ephesians 1:7-10

"Bad Guys are Good - Right Dad?"

During family devotions tonight, my four year old son (Buddy) brought up the "bad guy" theme again (see "Are Bad Guys Real") when he made the comment after talking about Jesus dying on the cross:

Buddy: "So dad, bad guys, right dad?"

Me: "What do you mean, son?"

Buddy: "Bad guys put Jesus on the cross, right."

Me: "Yes, so why is that good, Buddy?"

Buddy: "Because Jesus' dying on the cross took away our sins."

Me: "You are right, Buddy, that Jesus died on the cross is good news. But the bad guys were still bad for killing Jesus and they need his forgiveness."

Little four year olds are listening and thinking and believing.

What if two theologians I respect disagree about Scripture’s meaning?

I came across this interesting and brief article by Justin Taylor at New Attitude.

What if two theologians I respect disagree about Scripture’s meaning?

You asked Bible questions. You voted on your favorites. Now, we answer them.
_________

The answer to this is virtually the same as if the question had been, “What if two theologians I respect agree about Scripture’s meaning?” In either scenario, the proper response is to imitate the “noble Bereans” of Acts 17... (read the entire article)

ESV Study Bible - Coming

[HT-Justin Taylor]
Here's a 5-minute intro to the ESV Study Bible. You'll see a few of the original drawings (Jerusalem in the time of David, in the time of Solomon, in the time of Nehemiah, in the time of Jesus; the Herodian Temple Mount, the Temple Mount Complex, and a cutaway of Herod's Temple). You'll also see a few endorsements of the ESV Study Bible:


I plan to purchase this Bible when it comes out this fall. The best price I have found is at amazon.com for $31.49 (hardback).

Here is the video:

Do You Want an Explanation from God for Pain?

While on vacation I read this post on pain and the sovereignty of God. I think it's worth your read and meditation.

Why God Doesn't Fully Explain Pain

July 14, 2008 | By: John Piper

One of the reasons God rarely gives micro reasons for his painful providences, but regularly gives magnificent macro reasons, is that there are too many micro reasons for us to manage, namely, millions and millions and millions and millions and millions.

God says things like:

• These bad things happened to you because I intend to work it together for your good (Romans 8).
• These happened so that you would rely more on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1).
• This happened so that the gold and silver of your faith would be refined (1 Peter 1).
• This thorn is so that the power of Christ would be magnified in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12).

But we can always object that there are other easier ways for God to accomplish those things. We want to know more specifics: Why now? Why this much? Why this often? Why this way? Why these people?

The problem is, we would have to be God to grasp all that God is doing in our problems. In fact, pushing too hard for more detailed explanations from God is a kind of demand that we be God.

Think of this, you are a blacksmith making horseshoes. You are hammering on a white hot shoe and it ricochets off and hits you in the leg and burns you. In your haste to tend to your leg you let the shoe alone unfinished. You wonder why God let this happen. You were singing a hymn and doing his will.

Your helper, not knowing the horseshoe was unfinished gathered it up and put it with the others.

Later there was an invasion of your country by a hostile army with a powerful cavalry. They came through your town and demanded that you supply them with food and with shoes for their horses. You comply.

Their commander has his horse shoed by his own smith using the stolen horseshoes, and the unfinished shoe with the thin weak spot is put on the commander’s horse.

In the decisive battle against the loyal troops defending your homeland the enemy commander is leading the final charge. The weak shoe snaps and catches on a root and causes his horse to fall. He crashes to the ground and his own soldiers, galloping at full speed, trample him to death.

This causes such a confusion that the defenders are able to rout the enemy and the country is saved.

Now you might say, well, it would sure help me trust God if he informed me of these events so that I would know why the horseshoe ricocheted and burned my leg. Well maybe it would help you. Maybe not.

God cannot make plain all he is doing, because there are millions and millions and millions and millions of effects of every event in your life, the good and the bad. God guides them all. They all have micro purposes and macro purposes. He cannot tell you all of them because your brain can’t hold all of them.

Trust does not demand more than God has told us. And he has given us immeasurably precious promises that he is in control of all things and only does good to his children. And he has given us a very thick book where we can read story after story after story about how he rules for the good of his people.

Let’s trust him and not ask for what our brains cannot contain.

People Don't Know What They Are Missing

James Smith and I had lunch today. As we were on our way out James noticed the cups.

Psalm 86:8-10 "There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. 10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God."

Romans 9:1-3 "I am speaking the truth in Christ- I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit- 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers..."

God Knows Us and Still Loves Us

I read Psalm 139 this morning and was struck with these two thoughts:



- First, God knows everything about me (my thoughts, my words before I speak, everything). What if your spouse or pastor or best friend knew all your thoughts and words? That would be scary. As sinful creatures we are all glad at times that people are not exposed to our thoughts. However, God discerns our "thoughts from afar." (V. 3) I know there has been many times when I have been relieved that so and so did not hear what I said, but verse 4 says he knows every word before we even speak.



What does this mean in my relationship with God? Can I actually inform God about something in my prayers? No. Can I every deceive Him and put on a show, trying to be someone that I am not in order to impress Him (like we often do with other people)? No way. He has complete knowledge of me. This truth is sobering.



- Secondly, inspite of God's complete and realistic view about me (which means he knows how sinful I am in words, thoughts and actions), I am loved and excepted by Him in Jesus. I can be honest with Him and confess all my junk to Him knowing that none of it will surprise Him in the least and I can stand cleansed in His mercy and foregiveness because of what Jesus did.



Psalm 130 says:

"3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.



All beause of Jesus and His Crosswork.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

What to See Something Majestic?

In the movie "The Bucket List" on of the guys wants to see something really majestic before he dies. His idea is the Himalayan mountains.

Here is something more majestic - Luke 9:37-43. Here Jesus casts out a demon from a boy and saves him. Verse 43 says - "and all were astonished at the majesty of God."

What is more majestic than seeing the healing work of Jesus or the Satan-overcoming work of the Son of man?

Want to see something truly majestic? Bring the Gospel to sinners and watch God show His majesty.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry