Of First Importance

I will be preaching again, for the last time, at Center Presbyterian Church this Sunday.  My text will be 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, asking one basic question: "Why is Paul reminding Christians of the gospel?  Don't they already know it?"  The title of the sermon will be, "Of First Importance: Remembering the Most Important Thing."

Whenever I have the opportunity to preach on Sunday morning, I am keenly aware of my shortcomings, but never more so when I am preaching directly on the gospel.  Please pray for me, that the beauty and glory and truth of the message of salvation would be put clearly on display by the frail words I bring to the congregation this Sunday.

Singing alleluia with our lives

One of the songs we sang on Easter sunday was the hymn, "Now Let the Vault of Heaven Resound." It's a great hymn to the tune of "All Creatures of our God and King." The third verse in particular has stuck with me all week:

O fill us, Lord, with dauntless love;

Set heart and will on things above

That we conquer through Your triumph

Grant grace sufficient for life's day

That by our lives we ever say,

"Christ has triumphed! He is living!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!"

Propitiation, and Big Words that Matter

I'm generally not a fan of big theology words.  As someone with a heart for pastoral ministry, I yearn to make theology accessible and applicable and wonderful and glorious to the average person in the pew, and that often means ditching some overly high-falutin' doctrine words in favor of, frankly, fewer syllables.

But I hold a few exceptions to that general rule.  There are a couple words whose weight of glory so outweighs the weight of their syllables that they are worth teaching and explaining and treasuring.  The two words that most quickly come to mind in that category are "justification" and "propitiation."  Both are Bible words, not theologian words.  They are hard to pronounce, but are absolutely central to the all-satisfying glory of the Gospel.

Propitiation means "a sacrifice to satisfy wrath."  Two of the main texts for this word are Romans 3:25 and 1 John 2:2--

"...Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith."

"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

There is an eternity of weighty, glorious meaning in this word, for all our redemption and salvation is wrapped up in its mystery.  My exhortation to you is: become a student of this word!  Spend your time and your mental energies in unpacking and exploring and applying all that this word holds for your soul. It will be time and energy well spent as you come to know more of the heart of our great Savior, Jesus Christ.

It's okay to pray for joy

Is it okay to pray for joy, or is that a selfish prayer?  Asking for God to make you happy, even happy in Him, seems sort of "off" somehow.  Though I freely label myself as a "Christian hedonist," it's still something I feel funny praying for sometimes.  But the Holy Spirit gave me a clear answer today when I was reading Psalm 85-86.  Here are 3 examples from the Psalms of praying for joy, all of them with God-centered motivation.

Psalm 51:12-- "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You."
Apparently there is a direct connection between deeply feeling the joy of knowing God's great salvation, and being a good evangelist.  Here, David's prayer for joy is directly connected to his desire that God's salvation would be felt more deeply by him and extended to others.

Psalm 85:6-7,9-- "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?  Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation... Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land."
The main connection to draw here is between "Your people rejoice in You" and "that glory may dwell in our land."  The glory of God is put on brightest display when His people rejoice, delight in, and treasure Him above all else.  Therefore, our desire for joy is (or should be) deeply caught up in our desire for God to be glorified, because those desires are biblically synonymous.

Psalm 86:4-5-- "Gladden the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.  For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You."
This has got to be one of the most overtly hedonistic prayers in the Bible.  "Gladden the soul of Your servant," the Psalmist prays.  In other words: "Make me happy, God!"  And the foundation for His prayer: the character of God.  God is good, forgiving, and loving-- and this is the ground for both the Psalmist's request and His expectation.  Because God is all of these things, there is hope and reason for joy, even in the darkest of times.

And finally, not needing any explanation, are the precious words of our Savior from John 16: "Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."