Pastor’s Page

Below are a number of links to posts addressing the recent Revoice conference that took place in St. Louis, MO. I commend them to your reading:

CREC Statement on Sexuality by Virgil Hurt, Presiding Minister of the CREC

Revoice: Sliding into Heresy by Dr. Peter Jones

A Time to Stand: Revoice and the Future of the PCA by Pastor Jon Payne

While Edmund Burke was writing in a specific context and to a specific subject in his Reflections on the Revolution in France, the following insight certainly imparts wisdom to the church in her ministry to the world (pastors and laymen alike), and rightly challenges the tendency toward a censorious spirit.

It is undoubtedly true, though it may seem paradoxical; but in general, those who are habitually employed in finding and displaying faults, are unqualified for the work of reformation: because their minds are not only unfurnished with patterns of the fair and good, but by habit they come to take no delight in the contemplation of those things. By hating vices too much, they come to love men too little. It is therefore not wonderful, that they should be indisposed and unable to serve them.

I have decided to simplify my thinking for the upcoming election, so perhaps this will be helpful to others. Paul writes in his first letter to Timothy: Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (2:1-2, emphasis added). I am going to vote for the candidates on the local, state, and national levels that I believe will afford the best opportunity for that kind of life to be lived. I would encourage you to do the same (if you choose to vote), and then be at peace with your decisions, trusting the Lord with the outcomes.

Today’s news headlines are overwhelming, depressing, and anxiety-inducing. Heeding Paul’s admonition for our anxieties to drive us to pray (Phil. 4:6), let us do so:

O God, who art the Hope of all the ends of the earth, the God of the spirits of all flesh: We beseech Thee to hear our humble intercessions for all races and kindreds of men, that Thou wilt turn their hearts unto Thyself. Remove from our minds hatred, prejudice, and contempt for those who are not of our own race or color, class or creed; that, departing form everything that estranges and divides, we may by Thee be brought into unity of spirit, in the bond of peace. Amen.

And,

Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed: Kindle, we pray Thee, in the hearts of all men, the true love of peace, and guide with Thy pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility Thy kingdom may go forward, till the earth be filled with the knowledge of Thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From The Book of Common Worship

At St. Mark we sing the Psalms, and within the last year have started chanting them. The Psalms are a regular part of the weekly liturgy, and should be for all churches. The Psalms are God’s prayer book; they are the Psalms of Jesus our king, and although Jesus taught the disciples to pray when they asked, surely the Psalms themselves tutor God’s people in the life of prayer. The church is taught a wider range of emotions in prayer than they might otherwise pray, as well as bolder and deeper petitions. This being true, the Psalms are also valuable for the daily life of the believer. The habit on Sunday should carry over into the habits of the other days of the week.

Several years ago, a fellow pastor and friend recommended Reading the Psalms with Luther as a helpful tool for learning to chant the Psalms. I obtained a copy, and began to incorporate chanting the Psalms as part of my morning prayers. On more than one occasion I have been thankful for the Lord’s perfect timing on what He has taught me to pray, and the choice words that have been a boon to my soul.

The current events and news of recent days have been weighing heavily, raising questions about the future, and causing a measure of unrest in my spirit. This morning Psalm 37 was the next one to be chanted. The first three verses were immediately apt:

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!
For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Within moments my faith was reminded of a faith-full outlook, what it is called to pursue, and my heart was lifted. I realize this experience is not only limited to believers and the Psalms, and can be known when reading other portions of God’s word, but the Psalms uniquely serve the praying-life of God’s people.

Lord, teach us to chant, and so teach us to pray.

The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might us their hands to do evil. – Psalm 125:3

“…we are here warned that the the guardianship of God does not secure us from being sometimes exercised with the cross and afflictions, and that therefore the faithful ought not to promise themselves a delicate and easy life in this world, it being enough for them not to be abandoned of God when they stand in need of his help. Their heavenly father, it is true, loves them most tenderly, but he will have them awakened by the cross, lest they should give themselves too much to the pleasures of the flesh. If, therefore, we embrace this doctrine, although we may happen to be oppressed by the tyranny of the wicked, we will wait patiently till God either break their sceptre, or shake it out of their hands. It is a sore temptation to see the wicked exercising cruelty in the heritage of the Lord, and the faithful lying extended beneath their feet; but as God does not without just reason thus humble his people, they should comfort themselves from the consideration suggested in the text.

“God, from his willingness to bear with our weakness, moderates our adversities. Although, then, we may not possess in ourselves a sufficient amount of fortitude and constancy to enable us to persevere in our duty for a single moment, yet let this sentiment be present to our minds, That God will take care that, broken as we may be by afflictions, we shall not forsake his service.” – John Calvin

For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity – Psalm 122:9

“If the salvation of our brothers is regarded by us as an object of importance, if religion is with us a matter of heart-work, we ought, at the same time, as much as in us lies, to take an interest in the prosperity of the Church. Whence it follows, that such as are indifferent about her condition, are no less cruel than impious; for she is ‘the pillar and foundation of truth,’ the inevitable consequence of her destruction must be the extinction of true piety. If the body is destroyed, how can each of the members fail to be involved in destruction? Further, this passage teaches us, that the Church is not an empty title, but must be sought for where the true religion prevails.” – John Calvin

If they shall have no dominion over me, then I shall be without spot, and I shall be cleansed from great sin. – Psalm 19:13

“It was because of this vice, because of this enormous sin of pride, that God came in humility. This enormous sin, this monstrous disease of souls, was the very thing which brought the almighty Physician down from heaven, humbled Him even to taking the form of a slave, exposed Him to ignominy, hung Him upon the tree, that by the saving strength of so potent a remedy this tumor might be healed. And now finally let man blush to be proud, for whose sake God has become humble.” – St. Augustine

In the foreword to his book, Planetary Service, Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy observed:

Every religion is characterized solely by its type of sacrifice. There are all sorts of human sacrifices, as well as sacrifices of animals, of money, of time, and of sanity. And the only religion which would be appropriate for all of mankind would require that we sacrifice part of ourselves. This is therefore the only binding religion which has a future. A religion demanding human sacrifices a la Hitler, must disappear.

I have a brother who is three years older than me. On the day that I was born, Dr. Green declared to my mother, “It’s another boy.” Earlier today I watched this video clip in which a similar announcement is made, but in a completely different context. Instead of the celebration of a birth, it is the devilish declaration of a medical assistant staring at the parts of a tiny, dismembered corpse in an over-sized petri dish.

I recently celebrated my forty-second birthday, which means that I was born in 1973, the same year that Roe v. Wade was passed. To state it coarsely, “I survived Roe v. Wade.” This is not to imply that my parents considered abortion, because that thought never entered their minds, but for over a generation a war has been waged against the womb. Dr. Ginde’s ironically dark statement about baby parts being “war-torn” in the video clip is gruesomely true.

I have a son who is three years old. He is another boy in this world, but not just another boy. He has a name, a delightful personality, and real relationships with family and friends. He is known. He is known by his mother, siblings, and me, and he knows us. Even more, he knows and is known by Jesus his Savior and King. My son has a soul.

I can’t help but wonder what the boy in the petri dish would have been like; his looks, his personality. He wasn’t just another boy either. He was/is a person; created to be known, to live life, to be loved, and, quite possibly, be a means for propagating more life. Who might have he married? What might have he named his son had one been born to him? The boy was fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14) in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), and he, too, has a soul – as do millions of other boys and girls who have been aborted. May God have mercy upon him. May God have mercy upon them all.

Whether you are a new father to a daughter or have years of experience in that role, Strong Father’s, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker is a valuable read that I cannot recommend highly enough. Drawing together the experience she gained in twenty years as a pediatric and adolescent doctor, thorough research, and a foundationally biblical perspective, Dr. Meeker provides comprehensive and straightforward insights regarding the relationship between a father and daughter as she expounds upon “The Ten Secrets That Every Father Should Know.” I read Strong Fathers last year, and immediately began to interact with and view my daughter in a more understanding way, and am planning to read it again this summer for a “refresher course.” In a day and age when so many different influences compete for a daughter’s attention, the most important is her father’s, and it is time well spent to learn how to more effectively become that primary influence in her life.

“Worldly government has laws which extend no farther than to life and property and what is external upon earth. For over the soul God can and will let no one rule but Himself. Therefore, where temporal power presumes to prescribe laws for the soul, it encroaches upon God’s government and only misleads and destroys the souls.”

“But the thoughts and intents of the heart can be known to no one but God; therefore it is useless and impossible to command or compel any one by force to believe one thing or another… Since, then, belief or unbelief is a matter of every one’s conscience, and since this is no lessening of the secular power, the latter should be content and attend to its own affairs and permit men to believe one thing or another, as they are able and willing, and constrain no one by force… Hence arise the well-known saying, found also in Augustine, ‘No one can or ought to be constrained to believe.”

“If then your prince or temporal lord commands you to…believe this or that, or commands you to give up certain books, you should say, It does not befit Lucifer to sit by the side of God. Dear Lord, I owe you obedience with life and goods; command me within the limits of your power on earth, and I will obey. But if you command me to believe, and to put away books, I will not obey; for in this case you are a tyrant and overreach yourself, and command where you have neither right nor power, etc. Should he take your property for this, and punish such disobedience, blessed are you. Thank God that you are worthy to suffer for the sake of the divine Word, and let him rave, fool that he is [1 Pet. 4:14; 16; Acts 5:41]. He will meet his judge. For I tell you, if you do not resist him, but give way. and let him take your faith or your books, you have really denied God.”

– excerpts from Martin Luther’s Secular Authority