The Heidelberg: Lord's Day 35

August 30, 2009 • Heidelberg Catechism • by
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Q. 96. What does God require in the second commandment?

A. That we in no wise represent God by images, nor worship him in any other way than he has commanded in his word.

Q. 97. Are images then not at all to be made?

A. God neither can, nor may be represented by any means: but as to creatures; though they may be represented, yet God forbids to make, or have any resemblance of them, either in order to worship them or to serve God by them.

Q. 98. But may not images be tolerated in the churches, as books to the laity?

A. No: for we must not pretend to be wiser than God, who will have his people taught, not by dump images, but by the lively preaching of his word.

http://www.ccel.org/creeds/heidelberg-cat-ext.txt

The Heidelberg: Lord's Day 34

August 23, 2009 • Heidelberg Catechism • by
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Q. 92. What is the law of God?

A. God spake all these words, Exodus 20:1-17 and Denteronomy 5:6-21, saying: I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1st commandment:
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2nd commandment:
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3rd commandment:
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4th commandment:
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5th commandment:
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6th commandment:
Thou shalt not kill.

7th commandment:
Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8th commandment:
Thou shalt not steal.

9th commandment:
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10th commandment:
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Q. 93. How are these commandments divided?

A. Into two tables; the first of which teaches us how we must behave towards God; the second, what duties we owe to our neighbour.

Q. 94. What does God enjoin in the first commandment?

A. That I, as sincerely as I desire the salvation of my own soul, avoid and flee from all idolatry, sorcery, soothsaying, superstition, invocation of saints, or any other creatures; and learn rightly to know the only true God; trust in him alone, with humility and patience submit to him; expect all good things from him only; love, fear, and glorify him with my whole heart; so that I renounce and forsake all creatures, rather than commit even the least thing contrary to his will.

Q. 95. What is idolatry?

A. Idolatry is, instead of, or besides that one true God, who has manifested himself in his word, to contrive, or have any other object, in which men place their trust.

http://www.ccel.org/creeds/heidelberg-cat-ext.txt

The Importance of Liturgy

August 22, 2009 • Uncategorized • by
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Yesterday I came across this (somewhat) older article from Jonathan McIntosh. I enjoyed reading his thoughts on liturgy and appreciate a lot of what he had to say. Here is a brief excerpt of Jonathan explaining his illustration of a tethered balloon:

A really buoyant balloon however, has to be tied to a string to be enjoyed. In fact, it is only the filled balloon that needs to be tied. The leaky balloon is already on its way down, and will lie crumpled on the floor by morning. If the Church is only led by spirit and creativity, then it, like the filled balloon cut free, will fly off into error and flakiness. The long string of tradition, the faithful tradition of 2,000 years of Christian history, will keep the filled balloon in place where it can be truly useful. Both are needed and both need each other. Helium and the string. Creativity and tradition.

We didn’t create the Church. Neither did the generation before us. This is not some new fad. This thing has been going on for thousands of years, and faithful men and women have passed down an ancient tradition of what it means to worship God from generation to generation. Should it now be abandoned? Our hope is to find out if something important can still be gleaned from the liturgical forms of the ancient church, if there is a way to connect with God using these forms that doesn’t become stale or produce mere heartless repetition.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Prayer, Sin, and the Promise of Sanctification

August 22, 2009 • Personal Reflection • by
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Last week I had a great conversation with another gentleman who is also member of Midland Evangelical Free Church. I recognized him as someone I have seen before and after service from time to time so I took the opportunity to introduce myself. I am glad I did. We spoke for a short while and are going to try and get some coffee or lunch sometime. Towards the end of the conversation he mentioned to me that he was reading The Mortification of Sin in Believers by John Owen.

This was a book that I had read earlier this year and we both shared bits of our gleanings from Owen. It’s an outstanding book! Owen delves deep into the theological and practical principles of putting to death indwelling sin in the life of believers. One of the things I most appreciated about Owen’s treatment was that the majority of the book was written concerning God’s working in us and through us – bringing to light that sanctification is the necessary fruit of justification and is all of grace. Something that is greatly neglected in most evangelical circles today.

As my thoughts were drawn back to Owen’s book, I wanted to share a prayer that I comprised from the devotional material in chapter 12. I initially posted this prayer on my old blog last March, but I believe it’s worth sharing again.

Read More…

Assorted Variety: 08/21/2009

August 21, 2009 • Assorted Variety • by
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Al Mohler weighs in on Kourtney Kardashian’s decision to keep her baby

As she thought about her decision, Kardashian concluded that “all the reasons why I wouldn’t keep the baby were so selfish.” She also received encouragement from her doctor. “My doctor told me there is nothing you will ever regret about having the baby, but he was like, ‘You may regret not having the baby.’ And I was like: That is so true.”

The Culture of Death looms as a massive threat, but its foundations are crumbling. Unexpected witnesses such as Sarah Kliff and Kourtney Kardashian help us to see how moral insight can emerge from unexpected experiences, reflections, and witnesses. Some of the most profound witnesses to the horror of abortion and the sanctity of human life do not even know that they are so. The evil of abortion cannot be hidden once it is seen, and a voice for life cannot be forgotten once it is heard.

You can read the rest of Dr. Mohler’s article on Rethinking Abortion here.

Tears and the Table
I appreciate Kevin DeYoung’s reflections upon his emotional response while reading through the Heidelberg in preparation for communion. Here is a brief excerpt:

What good news God proclaims to us at the Table! I fear that in most churches the Lord’s Supper is either celebrated so infrequently as to be forgotten or celebrated with such thoughtless monotony that churchgoers endure it rather than enjoy it. But the Lord’s Supper is meant to nourish and strengthen our weak faith. Have you ever come to church feeling dirty and rotten? Have you ever sat through an entire sermon thinking about how you blew it with your wife that morning or how prayerless you’ve been for the past month? Have you ever got to the end of a church service only to think, “I’m so distracted. I was worried about how I look. I can’t even sit through church right”? Have you ever wondered if God can really love you? If so, you need this gospel table.

John Piper on the Tornado in Minneapolis
John Piper shares his thoughts on the recent tornado that hit downtown Minneapolis. His interpretation of providence seems to have sparked quite a response. At the time of this posting the comment total is 478.

Addendum: Here are two new items of interest in the wake of Piper’s blog post concerning the Tornado in Minneapolis.
On John Piper and Tornadoes Sent by God
Clarifying the Tornado

The Senior Pastor Model
Stand to Reason writes about five potential liabilities of the senior pastor model in the wake of another unfortunate report of a senior pastor taken down by sin. (HT: Vitamin Z)

All I Have is Christ

August 21, 2009 • Uncategorized • by
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I am thankful that Justin Taylor shared this video / song this morning. I have listened to it a couple times already. Also, below the video are the lyrics to the song as well as a few links to direct you to where the CD can be purchased.

All I Have Is Christ from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

From the CD Looked Upon and NEXT 2009 Live, both put out by Sovereign Grace Music.

Assorted Variety: 08/18/2009

August 18, 2009 • Assorted Variety • by
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From the Crossway Blog:

Using the ESV API, Michael Scott has developed a handy tool to help you with scripture memorization. His website takes a list of references and automatically fetches the texts, formatting them into business card sized cards for easy printing.

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

New Podcast from Westminster Seminary California
Here is a brief description from the WSC website:

Season One of Office Hours introduces you to the faculty of WSC through personal, 30-minute interviews, discussing biblical and exegetical questions, historical and theological questions, pastoral matters, and Christian living.

Office Hours invites you to join the faculty in their offices for a discussion of issues that are important to you and the church.

Church Planters: Stop Wasting God’s Money
Bob Thune offers some wise words of caution to young church planters concerning the way money is spent on less-than-nessesary items. He asks some very important questions to aid in our evaluation of how we are stewarding God’s money:

If you had to shut things down, would you feel okay about how you’d spent the Lord’s money? Would any of your donors have reason to question your expenses as frivolous? Can you stand eye-to-eye with the family in your church who’s struggling financially and tell them with integrity that you’re spending only what’s necessary?

Two Kingdom Theology and Neo-Kupyerianism
Kevin DeYoung discusses some of the strengths and addresses some of the weakness of both Two Kingdom Theology and Neo-Kupyerianism.

The Heidelberg: Lord's Day 33

August 16, 2009 • Heidelberg Catechism • by
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Q. 88. Of how many parts does the true conversion of man consist?

A. Of two parts; of the mortification of the old, and the quickening of the new man.

Q. 89. What is the mortification of the old man?

A. It is a sincere sorrow of heart, that we have provoked God by our sins; and more and more to hate and flee from them.

Q. 90. What is the quickening of the new man?

A. It is a sincere joy of heart in God, through Christ, and with love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works.

Q. 91. But what are good works?

A. Only those which proceed from a true faith, are performed according to the law of God, and to his glory; and not such as are founded on our imaginations, or the institutions of men.

http://www.ccel.org/creeds/heidelberg-cat-ext.txt

Assorted Variety: 08/12/2009

August 11, 2009 • Assorted Variety • by
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Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries
Last fall Northwest Theological Seminary hosted a lecture by Rev. James T. Dennison on his recent book, Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries. NWTS has made both the audio of the lecture and handout available to download here.  (HT: Between Two Worlds)

Taking Charge of the Television
Randy Alcorn has shared some helpful thoughts on honoring God with both our television viewing habits and the stewardship of our time. Advice well worth giving some consideration to. (HT: Josh Harris)

Getting Things Done: Explained for Students
Lifehacker.com shares an explanation of how David Allen’s GTD principles can be adapted and used by students. I highly recommend Getting Things Done! I began reading and listening through the book this past spring. Since that time I have been implementing the principles and system into my everyday life and it has made a significant difference. I hope to share some of my experiences in future posts. However, for the time being, I implore any student to not only take the time to read through this article, but pick the book up as well. (On a side note, if you are a fan of audio books, Audible.com has Getting Things Done available.)

Praise Factory: A Children's Systematic Theology

August 11, 2009 • Systematic Theology • by
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The Praise Factory is well thought out and flexible systematic theology curriculum for pre-school and elementary age children. The best part is that The  Praise Factory is now offering all of the curriculum, including parent resources and music, to be downloaded free of charge. The author of the curriculum is Connie Dever, wife of Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC. The curriculum is broken down into three age categories, Teach, Take & Tell is targeted towards 2′s & 3′s, Big Questions and Answers for Little People is targeted towards 3′s-5′s, and The Praise Factory provides curriculum for children grades k-5th.

Rachel and I had been working on putting our own ideas together for some form of systematic instruction for Caleb to correspond with the pre-school lessons that Rachel will be beginning in the fall. We were both excited when we came across The Praise Factory curriculum two weeks ago. It’s a great resource that is being made available to parents at no cost. I would strongly encourage taking some time to visit praisefactory.org to review and become familiar with the materials available.

To find out more about the philosophy behind The Praise Factory, you can read Connie Dever’s explanation in her article, Two Dead Men and a Diamond.

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