Law and Gospel

The Law is for the self-righteous, to humble their pride; 

the Gospel is for the lost, to remove their despair.

Charles Spurgeon

All of Grace

Page 32

Faith and Good Deeds

Good deeds are faith's constant and faithful companion.

Titus 1:16, 2:7, 2:14, 3:1, 3:8, 3;14

James 2:14, 2:17, 2:18, 2:20, 2:22, 2:24, 2:26

(Who says that Paul and James disagree?)

Revelation 19:7-8

How well will you be clothed?

Spurgeon on Sermon Preparation

...Spurgeon said:  "The ministry demands brain labor.  The preacher must throw his thought into his teaching, and read and study to keep his mind in good trim."  In other words, power in gospel preaching demands arduous study.  He admitted:  "I scarcely ever prepare for my pulpit with pleasure.  Study for the pulpit is to me the most irksome work in the world."  But he understood that if he refused to pay this high price, he would have no business in the ministry:  "An idler has no right in the pulpit.  He is an instrument of Satan in damning the souls of men."  Again, he warned:  "He who has ceased to learn has ceased to teach.  He who no longer sows in the study will no more reap in the pulpit."  Even for a genius like Spurgeon, Bible study was hard work.  But depth in the Word is absolutely necessary if there is to be depth of conviction and soundness of conversions.

Steven Lawson
The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon
Page 32

Embracing the Cross

True Christian expectations centre on the cross and involve an acceptance, if not the willing embrace, of the suffering, weakness and marginalisation which inevitably come to those who follow in the footsteps of the Master.  These are to be the horizons of expectation of the believer as an individual and of the church as a whole.

Carl Trueman
Reformation:  Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Page 53

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take

up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23

Notice that the "was saying" in this verse is in the imperfect tense, which means Christ was saying this repeatedly, over and over, so as to make His point as to the earnest seriousness  one must have in following Him.  He did not want them to miss this important point.  Later in  Luke 14:26-27, Jesus has this to say,

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.  Whoever does notcarry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Again in Luke 21:17 Christ says, "and you will be hated by all for My name's sake."

The embrace of the cross, for us as Christians, must be a personal embrace of the entirety of the cross.  Too much has been made today of the benefits to Christians of Christ's cross while ignoring the costs and necessity of our carrying our cross.

A Good Thing to Keep in Mind

Keep this in mind, you only have
what you have been given.

For who regards you as superior?
What do you have that you did 
not receive?  And if you did receive
it, why do you boast as if you had
not received it?
I Corinthians 4:7

Where then is the cause for boasting,
arrogance, and pride?  Wouldn't it
be better to concentrate on wisely
using all you have been given, and
to keep in mind that He who has given
you all things will hold you accountable
for how you make use of what He
has given you?

Matthew 25:14-29

Milestone V

Well, on the third Sunday in June Grace Covenant Church passed another milestone, our fifth anniversary.  It certainly does not seem like it has been five years since we started, but by God's grace and in accordance with His eternal purpose we are still here.  And we are thankful for His calling us to this work, and are thankful for the provision of His grace to empower us to do what He has called us to do. 

As with any church plant there have been ups and downs, but I can truly say that even though we have experienced frustration and disappointments at times, we have never been discouraged; and that is because the Lord has been with us and has not let those times of frustration and disappointment turn into discouragement.

And I said all of that to say this, this has been the most interesting year so far, and in some sense the most daunting year.  We have had more families visit this year, and not come back.  We lost four families this last year that had been coming regularly, one for three years.  There were different reasons that we lost them, but lose them we did; and when you are a small church, that is noticeable.  However, we have had a sense of this being God's pruning of us so that not only will we bear more fruit, but that He will receive the glory for what is done.

But the good news is, as a church, we are richer spiritually now than we have ever been, more spiritually attuned, and more spiritually mature.  In the final analysis, this is the purpose of the church, any and all churches, to be the instrument of God in the lives of His people (His people being His people doing what they are gifted and called to do) to bring about a deepening Christ likeness in those He has placed in each church (Ephesians 4:11-16).  It is a deep and abiding joy to me as the pastor to see more of Christ in our people now than I saw in them a year ago. 

This year we finished the Gospel of John, which took about three and a half years to preach through.  We went through the book The Holiness of God, and are half way through Knowing God in our men's group.  We, again, took six of our men to the Shepherd's Conference, and the consensus was that it was the best one our group has attended.  Our ladies went through a couple of Precept studies and several attended the Gospel Coalition's Women's Conference last week.  Our children continue to hear the gospel consistently during their Sunday School time, and we are counting on the Lord's Word not to return to Him void.  Our people do love the Lord, and those that are here are developing and demonstrating faithfulness in their walk and service to the Lord.  It is indeed a great thing to be part of.

We are going through Psalm 119 and Titus over the next few months.  I have already preached out of Psalm 119 for the last couple of months, and will start the series on Titus next week.  I will take a few breaks in Titus to preach on Psalm 119.  In September we will be blessed to have Nigel Shailer, the Academic Dean of the Shepherd's Bible College in New Zealand, come to preach to us and to share with us what they are doing to train, equip, and evangelize in that part of the world; and we are having him come to prepare us, as a church, to support their work. 

All in all, it is a great and glorious blessing to be a part of Grace Covenant Church, to be its pastor, to lead and shepherd its people.  The Lord is indeed good and does good, to Him and Him alone be all glory, honor, and praise.  May His name be blessed forever and ever.