Why Does the Resurrection Matter?

This great video was put together by the folks at Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis. May it be a blessing to you this Easter.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...DeYoung on Christ and Communion

"The Lord's Supper is not only a visible reminder of the gospel, it is a spiritual feast where Christ is present as both the host and the meal. His presence is not physical, but it is real. At the Table, Christ nourishes us, strengthens us, and assures us of his love. We do not celebrate an absent Christ in the Supper, but enjoy communion with the living Christ. As Richard Baxter remarked, 'Nowhere is God so near to man as in Jesus Christ; and nowhere is Christ so familiarly represented to us, as in the holy sacrament.'"

Kevin DeYoung
The Hole in our Holiness

Register for the Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference

We're about half-way through summer and before we know it, fall will be upon us. That means it's time to register for the 10th annual Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference to be held on Saturday, October 26th from 10:00 am to 4:30 at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Flint.

Keep your eyes open for more detailed information that will be released soon, but as I have mentioned here before, the theme of this year's conference is "The Glory of Christ" and our speakers will be:

• David Crabb of First Baptist Church in Lapeer
• Jason Helopoulos of University Reformed Church in East Lansing
• Chuck Jacob of Knox Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor
• Don Galardi of Community EPC in Owosso

The entire event (including a hot lunch) is free of charge, but we do need to have an idea of how many will be attending, so we ask that you click here and fill out the quick and easy online registration form.

Feel free to shoot me an email with any questions.

Registration Open for Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference

Even though it's not yet June, you can already register for the 10th annual Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference to be held on Saturday, October 26th from 10:00 am to 4:30.

As I have mentioned here before, the theme of this year's conference is "The Glory of Christ" and our speakers will be:

• David Crabb of First Baptist Church in Lapeer
• Jason Helopoulos of University Reformed Church in East Lansing
• Chuck Jacob of Knox Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor
• Don Galardi of Community EPC in Owosso

The entire event (including a hot lunch) is free of charge, but we do need to have an idea of how many will be attending, so we ask that you click here and fill out the quick and easy online registration form.

Feel free to shoot me an email with any questions.

Greater Pleasure than Sin

Good friend (and speaker at the upcoming Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference) David Crabb authored a blog post today about sin. I know. What a fun topic to talk about! NOT!!!

Actually, as David recognizes in the post, if we had our druthers we probably wouldn't talk about sin at all. It is not pleasant spending time considering that which has so much power over us. And no matter how often we redouble our efforts to "try harder," it seems that those efforts always end in futility, as we are relentlessly enticed by sin's promises of pleasure (fleeting though it may be).

David writes though that there is a way to defeat sin:

The only way to defeat the pleasure of sin is by faith in the promise of God that there is a greater pleasure. Something more satisfying, more joy-giving than sin. Holiness will not come through man-made regulations or through using fear as a motivation, but through a mind captivated and controlled by Christ. Seeing Christ is what causes us to be like Him. When we see Him partially in this life, we are changed partially into His likeness. When we see Him perfectly in the life to come, we will be changed perfectly into His likeness.

Click here to read the entire post.

Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference...Save the Date

On Saturday, October 26th our church will be hosting the Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference. This will be our tenth year hosting the conference and we are very excited about it!

This year's theme will be "The Glory of Christ" and as has become our custom, we will once again have four gifted pastors from our region coming to speak to us. Our guest speakers will be:

• David Crabb of First Baptist Church in Lapeer
• Jason Helopoulos of University Reformed Church in East Lansing
• Chuck Jacob of Knox Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor
• Don Galardi of Community EPC in Owosso

One big change that we hope you will be excited about is the fact that THIS YEAR'S CONFERENCE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY FREE! We will gladly accept donations to help support the conference and enable us to continue to provide it, but we wanted to remove the possible obstacle of cost so that as many people as possible could be a part of this thoroughly enjoyable and edifying experience. 

So make sure you mark October 26th on your calendars now. In the meantime, feel free to email any questions to me at Pete@CalvaryFlint.com, and keep your eyes open for further information.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Calvin on the Principal Office of Christ

"The principal office of Christ is briefly but clearly stated; that he takes away the sins of the world by the sacrifice of his death, and reconciles men to God. There are other favours, indeed, which Christ bestows upon us, but this is the chief favour, and the rest depend upon it; that, by appeasing the wrath of God, he makes us to be reckoned holy and righteous, that, by not imputing our sins, he receives us into favour."

John Calvin
Commentary on John 1:29

Making Sure Christ is the Object of Our Faith

Some folks tend to reduce the Christian faith to nothing more than a way of life. They contend it doesn't really matter what exactly you believe, so long as you live a Christian lifestyle. Still others seem to suggest that what you do doesn't really matter, it's just acknowledging the right set of facts (i.e., that Jesus died for my sins) that counts.

In response to both ends of this spectrum, Michael Horton posted a good article yesterday at The White Horse Inn's blog, Out of the Horse's Mouth. In it he makes the point,

According to Scripture, the object of our faith is neither our actions or our knowledge, but the person of Jesus Christ. Of course, trusting a person involves knowledge and assent, but we’re saved by Christ, not by doctrines. The purpose of the doctrine is to direct us to the right person and to keep us looking to him until that day when faith yields to sight.

 He continues:

Faith is not mere assent to truths, much less blind submission. It’s trust in Christ. To trust in someone, you have to know something about them and have some confidence that they can do what they promise. However, faith is not saving as a virtue in itself, but because it embraces Christ who is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. A weak faith clings to a strong Savior. 

 Click here to read the rest of the article.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Sean Lucas on our Blessings in Christ

"All the spiritual blessings we have come through and with Jesus. And yet, the greatest blessing that we receive through our union with Christ is not justification, not holiness, not glorification, not the spirit of adoption, not the spirit of prayer, not simply even the fact that God rejoices over us. Rather, the greatest blessing we receive is Jesus -- that we are united to him and enjoy communion with the living God in and through Him. He is our greatest blessing. He is our greatest delight."

Sean Lucas
What is Grace?

Jesus...Better Than Expected

We are blessed to live in an age where the internet provides us with a cornucopia of good teaching on which we might feast. And while I would strongly speak against making the internet your primary source of church involvement, listening to sermons online can be a wonderful supplement to an already healthy Christian life.

In this sense, I am thankful are Kevin DeYoung's pulpit ministry at University Reformed Church in East Lansing and for the fact that his sermons are so easily accessible via the internet. I regularly listen to Kevin's sermons and benefit both as a preacher seaking to hone his own preaching skills as well as (more importantly) as a Christian who is regularly fed as Kevin opens and expounds upon the word of God.

He recently preached form Acts 3 dealing with Peter's address at Solomon's Portico. In it we see that though Jesus may not be what we thought or were expecting, he is, in reality, far beyond our understanding and even better than our expectations. Kevin states,

Do you notice how Peter paints such a stunning picture showing the contrast between human assessment of Jesus and God's assessment of Jesus? There will always be what men and women think about Christ, and then there is what God says about Christ:

You thought he was a false prophet, Peter says, but according to Moses he was THE Prophet.
You spoke against him, but Samuel spoke of him.
You said his father was the devil, God said he would be the son of father Abraham.
You had no ears to hear the gospel, but the Lord said you should listen to whatever he says.
You considered him a blasphemer but he was the Holy One of Israel.
You treated him wickedly, but he was the Righteous One of God
You gave life to a murderer, and you murdered the Author of Life.
You handed him over to die, God raised him up from the dead.
You denied him before Pilate, God glorified him in heaven
The One you delivered to the Romans, God has made your Deliverer.
And the One you would not save, God sent to be your Savior.

Have you ever known a man like this? Has there ever been such a gulf between what a people thought of someone and what he actually was? And can you hear this Savior speaking to you?

Some of you have been sort of checking out the church, sort of checking out Christianity or you've been sort of sleep-walking through your faith for twenty years, and yet you know  God has been saying something to you. And if you hear the voice of the Good Shepherd this morning, do not harden your hearts. You have never met a Savior like this and you have need of a Savior like this. And if he is calling, you would do well to heed his call.

A Word for Preachers...Sidney Griedanus on Christ-Centered Preaching

"In 1976, while a pastor in Delta, British Columbia, I preached a series of sermons on Ecclesiastes. After hearing one of these theocentric sermons, a retired pastor approached me and said, 'I appreciated your sermon, Sid, but could a rabbi have preached your sermon in a synagogue?' I was dumbfounded by the question, but it set me to thinking about the issue of Christocentric preaching. Of course, a rabbi and I have the Old Testament in common. Moreover, since wisdom is a reflection on 'customary orders in the world,' the message of wisdom literature would be the same for the church as for the synagogue. So yes, a rabbi could have preached that sermon in a synagogue without causing offense. But if that was the case, had I preached an 'Old Testament sermon' instead of a 'Christian sermon'? Should not my sermons on Old Testament passages reflect that these passages now function in the context of the New Testament? Should not the sermons of Christian preachers be distinctively Christian?"

Sidney Griedanus
Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Owen on Beholding Christ's Glory

"Some say they have a desire to behold the glory of Christ by faith, but when they begin to view this glory they find it too high and difficult. They are overcome, like the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. I admit that the weakness of out minds and our inability to understand much of the eternal glory Christ prevents us from keeping our thoughts in a steady and unbroken meditation for any length of time. Those who are not practised in the skill of holy meditation in general will not be able to meditate on this mystery in particular. But even so, when faith can no longer hold open the eyes of our understanding to think about the Sun of righteousness shining in his beauty, at least we can still, by faith, rest in holy admiration and love."

John Owen
The Glory of Christ

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...The Glory of Christ

"His glory is far too great for our small minds to understand so we can never give him the praise due to him. But by faith we can have some knowledge of Christ and his glory, and that knowledge is better than any other form of wisdom or understanding. The apostle Paul said, 'I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord' (Philippians 3:8). If our future happiness means being where Christ is and seeing his glory, there is no better preparation for it than to fill our thoughts with that glory now. So we shall gradually be changed into that glory."

John Owen
The Glory of Christ

A Word for Preachers...Zack Eswine on Christ-Centered Preaching

"According to Paul, the first essential for preaching is Chrsit. Regardless of the time and place in history that one preaches, biblical preaching is meant to be Christ-centered. Christ forms the content of our preaching (him we proclaim). Christ forms the purpose of our preaching (that we may present everyone mature in Christ). Christ is the power for our preaching (with all his energy that he powerfully works within me). To place preaching in the context of Jesus is to remember the redemptive movement of God for our sermons."

Zack Eswine, Preaching to a Post-Everything World: Crafting Biblical Sermons That Connect with our Culture

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Owen on Union with Christ

"Let us consider the justice of God in forgiving sins. All of God's elect are sinners. How can God be just, then, if he allows them to go unpunished, seeing he did not spare the angels who sinned, nor Adam when he sinned at the first? The answer is in the union between Christ and the church. Because Christ represents him for all their sins so they are all freely and graciously pardoned (see Romans 3:24-26). At the cross, God's holiness and justice meet with his grace and mercy. This is the glory which delights the hearts and satisfies the souls of all who believe. How wonderful for them to see God rejoicing in his justice and yet at the same time showing mercy by giving them everlasting salvation! In the enjoyment of this glorious truth let me live, and in this faith let me die."

John Owen
The Glory of Christ

A Word for Preachers...Sinclair Ferguson on Preaching to the Heart

"In the last analysis, preaching to the heart is preaching Christ in a way that reminds people of Christ, but also manifests Christ to them, and draws them to Him. If, among other things, preaching is (as Phillips Brooks' famous description claims) 'the bringing of truth through personality,' then the personalities of the preachers of the cross must be marked by the cross. So we are called to be cruciformed (shaped by the cross), Christophers (bearing the Christ of the cross), and Christplacarders (setting Christ and Him crucified on display, c.f. Gal. 3:1) in our preaching as we 'try to persuade men' (2 Cor. 5:11).

"Perhaps such preaching of Christ is less common than we assume. If so, it is because we do not yet know Him nearly well enough.

"Let us then resolve, above all other ambitions, to know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10). Let is also be determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2), so that, as we preach to the heart, God Himself will speak to His people heart to heart."

Sinclair Ferguson
Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching

A Word for Preachers...Keller on Preaching Christ, Not Moralism

"In nearly every text of Scripture a moral principle can be found, shown through the character of God or Christ, displayed in the good or bad examples of characters in the text, or provided as explicit commands, promises, and warnings. This moral principle is important and must be distilled clearly. But then a crisis is created in the hearers as they understand that this moral principle creates insurmountable problems. I describe in my sermons how this practical and moral obligation is impossible to meet. The hearers are led to a seemingly dead end, but then a hidden door opens and light comes in. Our sermons must show how the person and work of Jesus Christ bears on the subject. First we show how our inability to live as we ought stems from our forgetting or rejecting the work of Christ. Then we show that only by repenting and rejoicing in Christ can we then live, as we know we ought."

Tim Keller

(HT: Scott Sauls)

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Calvin on the Image of the Invisible God

"The sum is this -- that God in himself, that is, in his naked majesty, is invisible, and that not to the eyes of the body merely, but also to the understandings of men, and that he is revealed to us in Christ alone, that we may behold him as in a mirror. For in Christ he shews us his righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power, in short, his entire self. We must, therefore, beware of seeking him elsewhere, for everything that would set itself off as a representation of God, apart from Christ, will be an idol."

John Calvin
Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians

He Holds All Things Together

Last Sunday I preached a sermon from Colossians 1:15-20 entitled "Jesus: God of Creation and Redemption." It was a joy for me to dive into this magnificent passage which so richly proclaims the preeminence of Christ over all things.

As I was preparing to preach, a comforting thought settled upon me: In verse 17, Paul states regarding Christ, "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." It was the second half of the verse that specifically drew my attention, "...in him all things hold together."

Often, our existence in a broken, fallen world is fraught with pain, suffering and discord. In the midst of life's turmoil, we cry out to God questioning, "Why?" only to receive a deafening silence in response. Were we to judge God's disposition toward us on the basis of our circumstances, we would seemingly be forced to often conclude that he must hate us.

But we who trust in him instead can be confident in his steadfast love, not because of present circumstances, but because of the lengths to which he would go so that we might know this love. For on the cross we see the supreme example of God's love and the perfect juxtaposition of justice and grace. And while it must have seemed to all who witnessed it as the most God-forsaken moment in history, it was actually squarely in the center of God's providential plan.

So, coming back to Colossians 1:17, I am comforted by the certain knowledge that Christ is holding all things together...even when it seems for all the world that everything is falling apart.

The Preeminence of Christ

This Sunday I will be preaching from Colossians 1:15-20, which states about Christ Jesus, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
   
In preparation for my sermon I came across these words from William Hendriksen and found them so moving that I couldn't wait until Sunday to share them!

"Col. 1:15-20 pictures a Christ who holds in his almighty hand and embraces with his loving heart both the realm of creation and that of redemption. He who is 'the firstborn of all creation' is also 'the firstborn from the dead.' He who died on the cross knows by name the most distant star. He not only knows it but guides it. Still better: he controls it in such a manner that it will serve the interests of his people (Rom. 8:28). The so-called 'laws of nature' have no independent existence. They are the expression of his will. And because he delights in order and not in confusion it is possible to speak of laws. He who in answer to prayer grants assurance of salvation is also able in answer to prayer to grant rain!

"The present-day application of this truth is immediately evident. Since the Christ of Calvary rules the heavens and the earth in the interest of his kingdom and to the glory of his Name, always over-ruling evil for good, neither automation nor bomb nor communistic menace nor depression nor economic unbalance nor fatal accident nor gradual decline in mental vigor nor hallucination due to nervous disorder nor any invader from outer space (about which some people have nightmares!) will ever succeed in separating us from his love (Rom. 8:35, 38). He who tells us how to go to heaven and actually brings us there, also knows how the heavens go; for he, all things having been created and 'holding together' in him, through him, and unto him, causes them to perform their mission and to go to the place predestined by him."

From Baker's 12 volume New Testament Commentary by Hendriksen & Kistemaker