Summary

A Prayer from The Valley of Vision: “Need of Grace”

“Thou knowest my great unfitness for service, my present deadness, my inability to do anything for thy glory, my distressing coldness of heart. I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable, and loathe and abhor myself. I am at a loss to know what thou wouldest have me do, for I feel amazingly deserted by thee, and sense thy presence so little; Thou makest me possess the sins of my youth, and the dreadful sin of my nature, so that I feel all sin, I cannot think or act but every motion is sin. Return again with showers of converting grace to a poor gospel-abusing sinner. Help my soul to breathe after holiness, after constant devotedness to thee, after growth in grace more abundantly every day. O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness, and am ready to sink because I fall short of my desire; Help me to hold out a little longer, until the happy hour of deliverance comes, for I cannot lift my soul to thee if thou of thy goodness bring me not nigh. Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender, lest I offend my blessed Friend in thought and behaviour; I confide in thee and lean upon thee, and need thee at all times to assist and lead me. O that all my distresses and apprehensions might prove but Christ’s school to make me fit for greater service by teaching me the great lesson of humility.”

“The Valley of Vision” is a collection of Puritan prayers that I have found very helpful in expressing my prayers and emotions to God in an honest and real way (of course, the Psalms are great for this as well). These are prayers that are forged in the depths of the heart during trying circumstances and are filled with truth. I recommend them to you. Here is a summary of this devotional resource from Ligonier’s Ministries:

In this classic volume, edited by Arthur Bennett, the prayers of the Puritans are brought to life. Including prayers of Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, Charles Spurgeon, and others, The Valley of Vision is a selection of petitions and meditations in the Puritan tradition. This compilation of prayers is intended to teach and encourage Christians to be faithful in their private and family worship.

The strength of Puritan character and life lay in prayer and meditation. In this practice the spirit of prayer was regarded as of first importance and the best form of prayer, for living prayer is the characteristic of genuine spirituality. Yet prayer is also vocal and may therefore on occasions be written. Consequently in the Puritan tradition there are many written prayers and meditations which constitute an important corpus of inspiring devotional literature. Too often ex tempore prayer lacks variety, order and definiteness. The reason for this lies partly in a neglect of due preparation. It is here that the care and scriptural thoroughness which others found necessary in their approach to God may be of help. This book has not been prepared to “supply” prayers but to prompt and encourage the Christian as he treads the path on which others have gone before.

Makes a wonderful gift!

You can order this resource here.

As I prepare to preach on the call of Abram in Genesis 12 this Sunday, I am reminded of one of my favorite hymns: “The God of Abraham Praise.” You can listen to the tune with the lyrics here, or simply read them below:

The God of Abraham praise,
Who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days,
And God of love:
Jehovah! great I AM!
By earth and heav’n confessed;
I bow and bless the sacred name,
For ever blest.

The God of Abraham praise,
At whose supreme command
From earth I rise, and seek the joys
At his right hand:
I all on earth forsake,
Its wisdom, fame, and power;
And him my only portion make,
My Shield and Tower.

He by himself hath sworn,
I on his oath depend;
I shall, on eagle’s wings upborne,
To heav’n ascend:
I shall behold his face,
I shall his power adore,
And sing the wonders of his grace
For evermore.

The goodly land I see,
With peace and plenty blest,
A land of sacred liberty
And endless rest;
There milk and honey flow,
And oil and wine abound,
And trees of life for ever grow,
With mercy crowned.

There dwells the Lord our King,
The Lord our righteousness;
Triumphant over the world and sin,
The Prince of Peace
On Zion’s sacred height
His kingdom still maintains,
And glorious with his saints in light
For ever reigns.

The whole triumphant host
Give thanks to God on high;
Hail Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
They ever cry:
Hail Abraham’s God and mine!
I join the heavenly lays
All might and majesty are thine,
And endless praise.

Paul exhorts us as the one body of Christ to, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15). Elsewhere he writes, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:16). When it comes to suffering, there is at least one area where many members of the body of Christ are suffering, and yet many Christians are unaware of the true pain that they are going through. What I have in mind is the pain of infertility. While I have never suffered from this myself, I want to learn how to weep with those who weep over infertility, having had several brothers and sisters in Christ who have and still are going through this pain. I also feel that more Christians should be aware of the struggle that the couple sitting next to them in the pew may be going through and should learn how to pray for them, how they can encourage them, and how they can avoid discouraging them. It’s also important for couples who are struggling with infertility to hear comforting counsel from God’s Word and wise advice for their situation.

Not enough has been written on this topic, but here is one article that I found this past year that I highly recommend every Christian read, whether struggling with infertility or not. It’s called “The Bible and the Pain of Infertility” by Kimberly Monroe and Philip Monroe. It is written by a Christian couple who struggled with infertility themselves and so they write from their own experience. I found it especially helpful to hear the struggle that a wife might go through and the struggle that a husband might go through because they experience this struggle in different ways. It’s a very honest article that ultimately points the reader to the precious objective promises of God in the Bible. Like a lament Psalm it moves from real honest emotions in the midst of struggle to real honest hope in God. I originally found it on the web-site for the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (CCEF). But you can access it directly here.

 

It’s been way too long since I posted a blog. For some reason I am inspired today to start posting again on a more regular basis. So I thought I would start with a synopsis of a sermon I preached this past Sunday on “The Eternal Deity of Jesus Christ” (cf. Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 10).

A couple of Jehovah’s witnesses visited me about two weeks ago. It was interesting timing because I was preparing to preach a few catechetical sermons on the topics of the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, and the person and deity of the Holy Spirit. Jehovah’s witnesses of course deny these Biblical and historical doctrines of the Christian faith. So this past Sunday when I preached on the eternal deity of Jesus Christ one of my goals was to equip my congregation with Biblical answers to their objections. Here are a few Scripture verses that we went through to prove the deity of Christ:

John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. . .14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . .18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Colossians 1: 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. . .Col. 2:9: For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

Hebrews 1: 11 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. 

It’s easy to remember these three references because they all are from chapter 1 (John 1, Col. 1, Heb. 1). With John 1 and Colossians 1 I responded to the common objections that Jehovah’s witnesses make with these verses (listen to the audio below if you’d like to hear these answers). Some other verses you may want to consider are the following:

1. Jesus’ “I AM” statements in John’s gospel (Jn. 6:35, 48; 8:12, 58; 9:5; 10:7, 11-14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5). This was Jesus claiming God’s covenantal name for Himself (cf. Ex. 3:14), which is why the Jews wanted to stone Him (John 8:59).

2. Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17. Jesus prays: John 17:5:And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. This is a remarkable statement since in the Old Testament God often told Israel that He was jealous for His own glory and that He shares His glory with no one (cf. Isa. 42:8). Here we see that Jesus indeed has always shared that glory with God the Father, being the second person of the Trinity.

3. Jesus receives worship (Matt. 28:16; Heb. 1:5-6, 7-12 [here Psalms praising God apply to Him]; Rev. 5:11-14). Compare this with John being rebuked for trying to worship an angel in the book of Revelation (Rev. 19:10).

At the conclusion of my sermon I wanted to press home the point that it is both necessary and extremely comforting to know that Jesus Christ is eternally God. Here are the reasons that I gave:

• Because it’s Biblical as we have seen above
• Because we cannot see God if Jesus is not divine. He reveals the invisible God to us (Jn. 1:18; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). He is Immanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23)! Jesus said to his disciples if you have seen me you’ve seen the Father (Jn. 14:9).
• Because we cannot be saved if Jesus is not divine. In Reformed churches we confess in Heidelberg Catechism Question 17: “Why must He also be true God? That by the power of His Godhead He might bear in His manhood the burden of God’s wrath, and so obtain for and restore to us righteousness and life.” We need a mediator who is fully God and fully man in order to be saved from our sins. Without Jesus’ divinity we are hopeless.
• Because we cannot be preserved and comforted in this world if Jesus is not eternally God. We would have a weak and insufficient mediator if Jesus is not eternally God. But because Jesus is God, this doctrine gives us unspeakable comfort. In Reformed churches we also confess these comforting words from the Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 26: “And if we seek for one who has power and majesty, who is there that has so much of both as He who sits at the right hand of God, and to whom hath been given all authority in heaven and on earth? And who will sooner be heard than the own well beloved Son of God?” You see, because Jesus is the eternal Son of God you and I can be sure that we have an all sufficient Mediator and that Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17 will most definitely be answered!

And so, let us believe in our heart and confess with our mouth the eternal deity of Jesus Christ with great comfort and with great confidence. And let us invoke, worship, and serve Christ both now and forevermore Amen! Come Lord Jesus!

You can listen to the full audio of this sermon at our church web-site here.

What are the springs of true obedience? Find out in this post as I continue to blog through the Marrow of Modern Divinity with my friends.

The Marrow blog is back after a brief hiatus. I just posted a brief meditation on the opening of Fisher’s section on the “law of Christ.” Hopefully, my blog partners will be inspired to start posting again.

Next Tuesday night, May 3, from 7-9PM our White Horse Inn discussion group in Regina, SK will be hosting a live Skype session with one of the White Horse Inn co-hosts, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger. Dr. Riddlebarger has graciously agreed to teach on the end times for about 45 minutes followed by a Q&A session. If you are in the area and are interested in learning more about what the Bible teaches about the end times you won’t want to miss this.

Dr. Riddlebarger is a minister in the United Reformed Churches of North America and pastors Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, CA. He is also visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California and a frequent contributor to Tabletalk and Modern Reformation. He has written two books on the end times: A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times, and The Man of Sin: Uncovering The Truth About the Antichrist. He has also spoken at many conferences on this topic. For free resources on this subject visit his blog, The Riddleblog, where he has a plethora of free charts, manuscripts and audio.

We’ll be meeting at my house for our discussion. If you need directions or more info you can e-mail me at brian@redeemerchurch.ca. Hope to see you there!

Shane Lems is a pastor in the URC who has planted a URC church in Sunnyside, WA. He also co-edited the book Planting, Watering, Growing: Planting Confessionally Reformed Churches in the 21st Century. He blogs at The Reformed Reader. As I type he is presenting “11 Theses” on church planting along with an annotated bibliography on church planting under each theses. It is an excellent resource. He says this is a work in progress, but this is his wisdom on the topic thus far:

1. Church plants need to focus on making disciples (evangelism) and maintain that focus after the church is organized/particularized.
2. Those involved with planting a church need to be well informed before the plant begins.
3. Church plants need to think, act, and exist like missionaries by “contextualizing” to some extent.
4. Church plants need to know the dynamics of an average American church/Christian
5. Church plants need to take leadership training very seriously.
6. Church plants need to continually train the disciples they are making.
7. Church plants need to have a biblically structured liturgy that is understandable and explainable.
8. Church plants need to have a solid knowledge of and love for the church.
9. Church plants must be ready, willing, and able to minister to all sorts of people.
10. Church plants should always have a wide variety of free reading material available.
11. Church plants must be familiar with the methods and means of other denominations and networks that have experience in church planting.

This looks like a great book on “Planting Confessionally Reformed Churches in the 21st Century.” I’ll be picking up my copy next week at the first ever URCNA Church Planting Conference/Colloquium in Denver, CO. You can get your copy here.

Here is the publishers description:

“As a response to the unique challenges facing the twenty-first-century American church, church planting has become a popular topic. But at a time when churches that spread the seed of the Word through preaching, the sacraments, and prayer are greatly needed, much of the focus has been on planting churches that adapt pop culture to meet “consumer demand.”  In Planting, Watering,Growing, the authors of this collection of essays weave together theological wisdom, personal experiences, and practical suggestions, guiding readers through the foundations and methods of planting confessional churches that uphold the Word of God.”

 

Table of Contents:

Foreword: Was the Reformation Missions-Minded?—Michael S. Horton

Introduction—Daniel R. Hyde and Shane Lems

 

Part 1: The Foundation of Planting Churches

1     The Fruitful Grain of Wheat—Brian Vos

2     The Sovereign Spirit of Missions: Thoughts on Acts 16:6–10 and Church Planting—Daniel R. Hyde

3     The Reformed Confessions and Missions—Wes Bredenhof

4     No Church, No Problem?—Michael S. Horton

 

Part 2: The Methods of Planting Churches

5     Church Planting Principles from the Book of Acts—Daniel R. Hyde

6     Heart Preparation in Church Planting—Paul T. Murphy

7     Church Planting: A Covenantal and Organic Approach—Paul T. Murphy

8     Planning the Plant: Some Thoughts on Preparing to Plant a New Church—Kim Riddlebarger

 

Part 3: The Work of Planting Churches

9     On Being a Church Planter—Daniel R. Hyde

10     Being a Welcoming Church Plant—Kevin Efflandt

11     Flock and Family: A Biblical Balance—Shane Lems

12     Declare His Praise among the Nations: Public Worship as the Heart of Evangelism—Daniel R. Hyde

13     “How’s the Food?” The Church Plant’s Most Important Ingredient—Michael G. Brown

14     Church Membership and the Church Plant—Michael G. Brown

15     Shepherding Toward Maturity, Part 1: The Authority in Church Planting— Spencer Aalsburg

16     Shepherding Toward Maturity, Part 2: Identifying a Mature Church Plant— Spencer Aalsburg

17     Motivation: The Planting Church and the Planted Church—Eric Tuininga

 

Part 4: The Context of Planting Churches

18     Church Planting in a Melting Pot—Shane Lems

19     The Cultural Factor in Church Planting—Mitchell Persaud

20     Growing Contextually Reformed Churches: Oxymoron or Opportunity?—Phil Grotenhuis

21     Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?—Michael S. Horton

 

Epilogue—Daniel R. Hyde and Shane Lems

 

Appendix A Church-Plant Timeline: A Big and Brief Picture of a Plant—Daniel R.    Hyde and Shane Lems

Appendix B The Steering Committee—Spencer Aalsburg

Appendix C Guidelines for the Steering Committee—Spencer Aalsburg

 

Selected Bibliography

Contributors

Scripture Index

Confessions Index

 

About the Editors:

Daniel R. Hyde and Shane Lems are the church planters and pastors of the Oceanside United Reformed Church in Carlsbad/Oceanside, California, and United Reformed Church of Sunnyside in Sunnyside, Washington.

Contributors:

Michael S. Horton, Brian Vos, Wes Bredenhof, Paul T. Murphy, Kim Riddlebarger, Kevin Efflandt, Michael G. Brown, Spencer Aalsburg, Eric Tuininga, Mitchell Persaud, Phil Grotenhuis

I have always loved the words of the URCNA form for communion for those churches who celebrate the Lord’s Supper frequently. One of my parishioners has often told me that he really loves these words as well. So I thought it would be good to share these beautiful words which explain in a nutshell the Reformed view of the Lord’s Supper and how we should approach it with reverence, joy and thanksgiving.

Form for the Frequent Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

Approved for provisional use 2/15/07; revised 12/07/09

Preparation:

To all of you who have confessed your sins and affirmed your faith in Christ, the promise of Jesus is sure: “Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life and will not come into condemnation.” For on the night in which our Lord was betrayed, he took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.” After the same manner also he took the cup, saying, “this cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” While remaining bread and wine, these sacred elements nevertheless become so united to the reality they signify that we do not doubt but joyfully believe that we receive in this meal nothing less than the crucified body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For all who live in rebellion against God and unbelief, this holy food and drink will bring you only further condemnation. If you do not yet confess Jesus Christ and seek to live under his gracious reign, we admonish you to abstain. But all who repent and believe are invited to this sacred meal not because you are worthy in yourself, but because you are clothed in Christ’s perfect righteousness. Do not allow the weakness of your faith or your failures in the Christian life to keep you from this table. For it is given to us because of our weakness and because of our failures, in order to increase our faith by feeding us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ. As the Word has promised us God’s favor, so also our Heavenly Father has added this confirmation of his unchangeable promise. So come, believing sinners, for the table is ready. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

The Consecration:

Let us pray:

Almighty and everlasting God, who by the blood of your only begotten Son has secured for us a new and living way into the Holy of Holies, cleanse our minds and hearts by your Word and Spirit that we, your redeemed people, drawing close to you through this holy sacrament, may enjoy fellowship with the Holy Trinity through the body and blood of Christ our Savior. We know that our Ascended Savior does not live in temples made by hands, but is in heaven where he continues to intercede on our behalf. Through this sacrament, by Your own Word and Spirit, may these common elements be now set apart from ordinary use consecrated by You, so that just as truly as we eat and drink these elements by which our life is sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls.

Apostles’ Creed (optional):

Sursum Corda:

Let us now go to our Heavenly Table and receive the gift of God for our souls. By the promise of God this bread and wine are for us the body and blood of Christ.

(Minister) Lift up your hearts!

(People) We lift them up to the Lord.

Communion:

(The elements are distributed, and the minister may use the formula)

The bread which we break is a communion of the body of Christ. Take, eat, remember, and believe that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was broken for a complete remission of all our sins.

The cup of blessing which we bless is a communion of the blood of Christ. Take, drink all of it, remember, and believe that the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for a complete remission of all our sins.

Thanksgiving prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessing of this holy feast. Although we are unworthy to share this meal with you, it is by your invitation and dressed in Christ’s righteousness that we have come boldly into the Holy of Holies. Instead of wrath, we have received your pardon; in the place of fear we have been given hope. Our High Priest and Mediator of the New Covenant has reconciled us to you and even now intercedes for us at your right hand. Please strengthen us by these gifts so that, relying only on your promise to save sinners who call on Jesus’ name, we may, by your Spirit, honor you with our souls and bodies, to the honor