It's that time again - time to change the clocks ahead and, sadly, "lose" an hour of sleep! Of course, we also "gain" an hour of daylight...somehow.
So, don't forget to move your clocks ahead tonight before bed, so you won't be late for church. No one likes walking into the middle of a sermon.
C. S. Lewis argues that it takes a community of people to get to know an individual person. Reflecting on his own friendships, he observed that some aspects of one of his friend’s personality were brought out only through interaction with a second friend. That meant if he lost the second friend, he lost the part of his first friend that was otherwise invisible. “By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets." If it takes a community to know an ordinary human being, how much more necessary would it be to get to know Jesus alongside others? By praying with friends, you will be able to hear and see facets of Jesus that you have not yet perceived.
- Tim Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe & Intimacy with God
On Saturday, March 12th, we will host our March Men's Prayer Breakfast and all men (and sons) are invited to attend! We will cook together, eat, talk, and pray for one another.
When: Saturday, March 12th at 9:00 am
Where: Church Fellowship Hall (3747 Trinity Church Road)
If you need more information, feel free to contact us HERE!
Due to the inclement weather, and high likelihood of more snow and ice to come, worship services for Sunday, January 24th, 2016 have been canceled.
We look forward to worshiping with you all the following Lord's Day.
Stay safe and enjoy the snow!
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1st Timothy 2:1-4
In his simply titled book Prayer, Tim Keller wrote, “To pray is to accept that we are, and always will be, wholly dependent on God for everything.” This is a truth we often fail to remember, and often wish not to remember. So, it's a truth of which we need to be regularly reminded.
On Saturday, February 13th, we will host our first Men's Prayer Breakfast - a time to remember our dependence upon God. All men (and sons) are invited to attend! We will cook together, eat, talk, and pray for one another.
When: Saturday, February 13th at 9:00 am
Where: Church Fellowship Hall (3747 Trinity Church Road)
If you need more information, feel free to contact us HERE!
Beginning in February, Holy Trinity will have a monthly midweek service! Dinner will begin at 6:00 pm, followed by children's classes and an adult Bible study and prayer time at 6:45 pm.
Dinner will be held in the Fellowship Hall, as will the children's classes, while the adult Bible study and prayer will be held in the sanctuary.
Date: February 3rd, 2016 (and every first Wednesday afterwards)
Time: Dinner at 6:00 pm, followed by children's classes and Bible study at 6:45 pm
Address: 3747 Trinity Church Road, Concord, NC 28027
Need more info? You can get in touch with us HERE!
- C.S. Lewis
What: Christmas Eve Communion Service (with Trinity Lutheran Church)
When: December 24th at 4:00 p.m.
Where: 3747 Trinity Church Road, Concord, NC
Join us this Christmas Eve for a time of singing, hearing the Scriptures, and partaking of communion as we prepare to celebrate the incarnation of our Lord!
The Advent season is a season of preparation – of prayer, contemplation, fasting, and spiritual renewal. It is a time in which the people of God, by God’s grace, make straight His paths in their hearts. Advent is a “time to slow down, to take stock of the things that matter the most, and to do a thorough inner housecleaning. As the ancient dogma of the Church asserts, Advent is a Little Pascha – a time of fasting, prayer, confession, and reconciliation.”
The readings for week three focus on the immediate events preceding the birth of Christ, from the prophecies surrounding John the Baptist and his birth to the angel’s appearance to Mary and Joseph.
Sunday, December 13th – Third Sunday of Advent
Luke 1:5-17 – An angel of the Lord tells Zechariah of John the Baptist’s birth and his role in preparing the way for the Messiah.
Monday, December 14th
Luke 1:13-25 – The angel’s prophecy concerning John the Baptist comes true, as well as the miraculous sign given to Zechariah in anticipation of his birth.
Tuesday, December 15th
Luke 1:26-38 – The angel Gabriel visits the virgin Mary, telling her of God’s plan that she give birth to the Messiah.
Wednesday, December 16th
Matthew 1:18-25 – Joseph also receives a visit from an angel of the Lord, assuring him to take Mary as his wife.
Thursday, December 17th
Luke 1:39-56 – Mary visits Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist and sings the “Magnificat” – her beautiful song of praise to the Lord
Friday, December 18th
Luke 1:57-66 – John the Baptist is born!
Saturday, December 19th
Luke 1:67-80 – Zechariah rejoices at the birth of his son and, being filled with the Holy Spirit, prophecies about what the Lord has done.
The Advent season is a season of preparation – of prayer, contemplation, fasting, and spiritual renewal. It is a time in which the people of God, by God’s grace, make straight His paths in their hearts. Advent is a “time to slow down, to take stock of the things that matter the most, and to do a thorough inner housecleaning. As the ancient dogma of the Church asserts, Advent is a Little Pascha – a time of fasting, prayer, confession, and reconciliation.”
The readings for week two focus on our inability to fulfill the Law of God, our unrighteousness, and therefore, our need for Christ who is our righteousness and the fulfillment of the Law.
Sunday, December 6th – Second Sunday of Advent
Exodus 20:1-17 – The Law of God is delivered in the Ten Commandments, our duties to both God and man are given, and we are helpless to fulfill them on our own.
Monday, December 7th
Joel 2:12-14 – The Lord calls for repentant hearts among His people, as we consider our disobedience to His commands.
Tuesday, December 8th
Isaiah 40:1-11 – The Lord offers comfort to His people as they look to Him.
Wednesday, December 9th
Romans 3:21-28 – True righteousness, which we could not attain ourselves, comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
Thursday, December 10th
Romans 8:1-4 – The Law that condemned us is fulfilled in Christ, and He fulfills it for those who are “in Him.”
Friday, December 11th
Isaiah 60:1-4 – Isaiah points to Christ, the light that has come (or, in Isaiah’s case, would come) into the world
Saturday, December 12th
Hebrews 10:1-10 – We are “sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”
The Advent season is a season of preparation – of prayer, contemplation, fasting, and spiritual renewal. It is a time in which the people of God, by God’s grace, make straight His paths in their hearts. Rather than simply being an extension of the Christmas celebration, Advent prepares us to more truly and fully celebrate Christ’s birth. As George Grant and Greg Wilbur commented, Advent is a “time to slow down, to take stock of the things that matter the most, and to do a thorough inner housecleaning. Advent is, as the ancient dogma of the Church asserts, a Little Pascha – a time of fasting, prayer, confession, and reconciliation.”
To help us observe Advent, here is a collection of Scripture readings for each day of the season. The readings for week one focus primarily on the promise of the Messiah, which first takes place in the Garden of Eden, after man’s Fall.
Sunday, November 29th – First Sunday of Advent
Genesis 3:1-15 – The consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin are pronounced by the Lord, along with the first promise of the Redeemer who would one day be born of a woman.
Monday, November 30th
Genesis 22:15-18 – Abraham hears the promises of God, that all nations will be blessed by his seed, which will be as numerous as the stars in heaven and the sands on the seashore.
Tuesday, December 1st
Isaiah 7:14 & 9:2-7 – Christ’s virgin birth is foretold, as well as His everlasting Kingdom.
Wednesday, December 2nd
Isaiah 11:1-9 – More promises about the righteous reign of the “shoot from the stump of Jesse”
Thursday, December 3rd
Micah 5:2-4 – Messiah’s birth foretold as being in the little town of Bethlehem
Friday, December 4th
Malachi 4:1-3 – The promise of the “sun of righteousness” arising with “healing in its wings”
Saturday, December 5th
Numbers 24:15-19, 2nd Peter 1:19, Revelation 22:16 – All verses to confirm the great and precious promises of God about the Messiah, promised all the way back in the Garden of Eden.
Originally published by The CiRCE Institute. Reposted by permission.
by Brian Phillips
My family and I just enjoyed a week on Cherry Grove beach in South Carolina. A November beach trip means deserted beaches and a far more relaxed tone to an otherwise hectic touristy area. We took a riverboat ride down the Intercoastal Waterway, learning about erosion between cheesy live renditions of Jimmy Buffett songs (which should never be played in sub-70 degree weather).
Much of our time was spent on the beach itself, watching our children splash in the Atlantic, and trying to remember what it was like to be unbothered by cold water temperatures. Our children were impervious to it and bounced easily from ocean to beach and back again.
At night, I would sit on the balcony listening to the ocean, just able to see each white wave surge onto the shore, and the occasional flashlight flicker of beach walkers. One night, while staring at the seamless wall of waves and stars, the sky lit up brightly, as if a bolt of sporadic lightning had sprung out on its own. The bright shooting star, left a trail like a falling firework, and was followed by a second one.
Shooting stars, or falling stars, are not really stars at all. They are, I would later find out, caused by meteoroids – bits of rock that fall into the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up, leaving behind a trail of light and smaller rocks called a meteor. If any of the meteor actually survives to crash land on the earth, it is called a meteorite. Astronomers map these by the constellations they appear to come from, making the ones I saw likely Orionids.
I learned all of this from the NASA website, though I must admit its purely material explanation did little to capture the wonder I experienced in seeing the brilliant streaks in the night sky.
On the following morning, I received an e-mail about a friend of ours whose infant daughter has been diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer. Yet, rare as it may be, this dear family is the second we know to receive this news in just the last few weeks. Both of these young girls will face difficult rounds of treatment that will make life very hard in the coming days.
Everyone acquainted with these families stayed tune to the descriptions of diagnosis and treatment options, details of which fly by with amazement but little understanding. But few, if any, of us could offer a fitting response to the reality that these babies have cancer.
The following afternoon, my phone buzzed with other news. Paris was devastated by coordinated terrorist attacks at a soccer stadium, a restaurant, a club, and a concert hall. Reports that night confirmed 153 people had died and about 200 more were wounded. Later, I learned that on the preceding day, 43 more people were killed and 250 were injured in terrorist attacks in Beirut.
But, that was not all. On Friday morning, before the events in Paris and after those in Beirut, Baghdad also suffered an attack that left 18 dead and 41 more wounded. Within 24 hours, most of the specific numbers had changed, but some 200 people lost their lives and hundreds more were injured, with responsibility taken by members of the Islamic State (ISIS).
In the midst of emerging stories from Beirut, came the story of Adel Termos. A report from The Independent put it this way:
“As crowds began to gather outside a mosque in Beirut targeted by a suicide bomber on Thursday, Lebanese father Adel Termos spotted a second bomber approaching the crowds and threw himself at them, according to local media reports.
‘He tackled him to the ground, causing the second suicide bomber to detonate,’ blogger and physician Elie Fares, who lives in Beirut, told PRI. ‘There are many many families, hundreds of families probably, who owe their completeness to his sacrifice.’”
As my wife and I spoke of the events in whispers, our eight-year-old daughter asked, “What’s wrong?” Our family talks pretty openly, by and large, so whispers strike her as unusual. How do I explain such tragedies to her? Should I even attempt to explain it? I do not understand it myself.
The “shooting stars” which were actually meteorites that appear to fly out of constellations, the tear-jerking news that yet another baby girl has cancer, and horrific reports of planned murder and suicide bombings around the world – these are quite unrelated in one sense. Yet, they brought back to mind a truth that is so unsettling that we typically refuse to acknowledge it: we know so little, and control far less.
The world, and the people in it, tell stories - stories of death, of tragedy, of danger, of sorrow; stories that make us weep, puzzle, and stare in horror at our television. The world offers things we cannot explain, from complicated “natural” phenomena to sickness to deeds of unthinkable evil.
But the world, and the people in it, also tell stories of bravery, beauty, hope, love, and sacrifice. A father throws himself at suicidal attackers to save the lives of everyone around him. The dark sky lights up with a reminder that the heavens above us, normally drowned out by artificial light, are alive. The families of young children with rare cancer write to assure everyone of their faith and confidence in the goodness of God.
The world is an overwhelming place, and not always in a bad way.
We are tempted to respond to what we cannot possibly understand or control with either despair or naïve optimism. Some simply conclude that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, so there is little left to do but throw up your hands and watch for more disgusting and disheartening news. They occupy themselves with attributing blame, indulging anger, and lamenting the loss of “the way things used to be.”
Others conclude that what is needed is more technology, more government intervention, more "scientific" explanations, more social programs, more something; that somehow, some way, man can be perfected if we pass the right laws or launch the right initiatives.
But, the world does not lend itself to either “solution.” Rather, the world continues to remind us that we know very little, and understand less. It reminds us that we must approach each moment, each person, each event with humility; showing us at every turn that we are not in charge. In other words, the world reminds us to pray.
When David considered the heavens in Psalm 8, he concluded with the exclamation, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Similarly, in Psalm 19, David looks to the heavens which "declare the glory of God," concluding with the prayer, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."
In Psalm 11:3, David asks, “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” His answer? “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test, the children of man.” In the face of what we cannot understand, whether it calls for rejoicing or weeping, the Lord is in his holy temple and his eyes see, even when the foundations are destroyed.
The world reminds us to pray.
***
“O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely upon Your holy will. In every hour of the day reveal Your will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul, and with the firm conviction that Your will governs all. In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events let me not forget that all are sent by You. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering or embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of this coming day with all that it will bring. Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray You Yourself in me. Amen.”
St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (1782-1867)
Originally published by The CiRCE Institute. Reprinted with permission.
by Brian Phillips
Bright red numbers glow, burning my sleep-heavy eyes. It takes a few moments for my brain to process what I’m seeing, but there’s little doubt now – “5:30.” Surely such horrific buzzing should be reserved for air raid alarms. I only use the torturous device when I have to awaken early, and then only for its persuasiveness. It is 5:30 a.m. on a Monday morning, and I do not want to get out of bed.
As a pastor, I generally find Sundays to be a strange blend of exhaustion and sleeplessness, which compounds my Monday morning problem. But, here I am, awake before the dawn, because I have a class to teach. A dozen ninth graders will gather to talk about King Arthur with me in a couple of hours and I have a traffic-filled journey to get to them.
Perhaps my problem resides in a truth of which I am gradually becoming aware: I am not a morning person. I love the idea of being a morning person, but the reality generally escapes me. Watching sunrises, drinking coffee on the porch, hearing the first tunes of songbirds somehow echoing over Edvard Grieg’s Morning Mood (Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46) – it all sounds great, until the blaring siren begins.
My son also likes to wake me up in the middle of the night, usually to accompany him to the bathroom. He doesn’t really “need” me, but I get up anyway. He always grins to see me stumbling behind him. I wait for him, tousle his hair as he walks out of the bathroom, and then I tuck him into bed all over again, kiss him, whisper “I love you, Ian” and wait for his reply. One day, I know I will miss our routine, 3:00 a.m. or not.
The seemingly constant state of tiredness in which I live arises from callings that are bigger than me - whether related to teaching early classes, my pastoral duties, or my “on call” status as Dad. These are vocations which, even when thought of individually, can overwhelm. Who is sufficient for these things, or even, this one thing? Sure, waking up early and battling tiredness for a season is a minuscule price for eternal work, but that is an incomplete assessment. “Tired” is only one difficulty among many we face in our labors.
Perhaps the problem resides less in my “morning mood” and more in the assumption that life should be easier, that even the richest of work should be less troublesome, that somehow life should just be simpler? Many of us recognize the insanity of modern life, and strive for greater simplicity, paring down our schedules, eliminating unnecessary stresses, buying whatever books promise to help. Recently, I read (and immediately began rereading) George Herbert’s 1632 work The Country Parson, in which he describes his life and needed character as a priest in rural England. Here is one short chapter, entitled “The Parson in Mirth”:
“The Country Parson is generally sad, because he knows nothing but the cross of Christ; his mind being defixed on it with those nails wherewith his Master was. Or, if he have any leisure to look off from thence, he meets continually with two most sad spectacles, - sin and misery; God dishonored every day, and man afflicted. Nevertheless, he sometimes refresheth himself, as knowing that nature will not bear everlasting droopings, and that pleasantness of disposition is a great key to do good: not only because all men shun the company of perpetual severity; but also for that, when they are in company, instructions seasoned with pleasantness both enter sooner, and root deeper. Wherefore he condescends to human frailties, both in himself and others; and intermingles some mirth in his discourses occasionally, according to the pulse of the hearer.”
Modern life, with its blinding pace, technological addictions, incessant noise, and blaring alarm clocks, creates much needless anxiety, but apparently Herbert found 17th-century life in a remote English parish to be troubling as well. Despite the differences in the nature and specifics of the work, all of us - every parent, homeschooler, teacher, pastor, and so on - labors in sorrow. We labor with the sorrow of romantics, knowing that things are not as they ought to be – that we are insufficient for the labors given to our hands, that our speech is lisping and our hearers dull, that we have too little of the wisdom we dearly hope to impart, and far more.
My petty tale of rising too early for my own comfort stands as one small weed in a field full. But, as I rise another day and stand before the weeds, hands and head still aching from the previous day’s labor, I do so with more than my romantic sorrow. I set to work with the picture of what could be, with mind fixed not only upon the sin and misery I will encounter in both myself and others, but upon the cross of my Master, and with the calling of Him whose wisdom is inscrutable. I believe my morning mood could improve.
On Saturday, November 28th at 10:00 a.m., we will gather for the Hanging of the Greens - decorating the church for the coming Advent and Christmas seasons, including the Advent wreath and the church Christmas tree.
The Christmas tree is deeply rooted in Christian tradition, going back at least to the story of St. Boniface, an 8th century missionary to modern-day Germany, a region controlled by Norsemen who brought their religion with them. They worshiped many gods, Thor being the chief of them and they consecrated a gigantic oak tree in Thor’s honor at the top of Mt. Gudenberg. They would gather around the tree for feasts, idol worship, and animal sacrifices.
St. Boniface, in the company of these pagans, chopped down the tree. Angry at first, the response of the Norsemen turned to repentance – if Thor could not defend his own holy place, what good was he?
Boniface then used that tree as an object lesson to tell them of a tree that actually does save, not because the tree was magic, but because on that tree, Jesus Christ died for the sins of men. That tree, Boniface said, is an evergreen, an eternal tree. Many Norsemen were converted to Christ and it was there that they began the practice of decorating evergreen trees (even in their homes) in celebration of the Savior's birth. Increasingly, the tree became a focal point in the home and gifts were laid under it, not in honor of the tree, but in honor of the Savior who died on the tree. It is His birth that we celebrate during Advent and it was for our sins that He died on the tree, the cross.
When: Saturday, November 21st at 10:00 a.m.
What: Hanging of the Greens & Lunch with the folks from Trinity Lutheran Church.
Note: Our church will bring sandwich "fixings" (lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayo, etc.) and chips.
Originally published by The CiRCE Institute in May of 2014. Reprinted with permission.
by Brian Phillips
“Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.”
- From “Manifesto: Mad Farmer Liberation Front” by Wendell Berry
We arrived home after church on the second Sunday of Easter, my wife leading our children into the house while I unloaded our van of its many bags and miscellanea. We greeted our next door neighbor as he pressure washed his siding, and noticed that another neighbor, Mrs. Edith, was making her way across the street to us.
We seldom see Mrs. Edith outside (in the South, we often use “Mr.”, “Mrs.”, or “Miss” along with the first name of our elders), as she has a little more trouble getting around these days, and when she neared my wife and me, it was clear that she had been crying. She wanted us to know that her husband had been taken to Hospice and given two weeks to live. Liver cancer.
It took a few moments for us to reply. Mr. David had always gotten on so well, even though we knew him to be in his 70s. He still drove around, worked in the yard when he could, walked the sidewalks often, and quickly offered cheery greetings anytime we saw him, but it seems that men of his generation refuse to discuss such matters.
Our children love Mr. David. They call out their “hellos” to him in loud chorus, and my 6-year-old daughter wept quite openly when she heard the news.
It is sometimes easier not to know your neighbors.
Across the street, and on the same weekend, our neighbors of nearly nine years moved. More than neighbors, they are friends. Over that span, they have seen our family go from zero children to number four on the way. We have shared nine years of birthdays, cookouts, borrowed lawnmowers, loud laughs, heart-breaking news, and countless missing ingredients for cooking. They did not move far, but I still expect to see them bound out of the garage or front door every time I look towards that house. Upon hearing the news of Mr. David, I needed them in that house.
After lunch and tucking the kids in for their Sunday afternoon nap, I drove to the Hospice House in town. Getting out of the car took some doing and not a few prayers. “I’m a minister,” I reminded myself. “I’ve been a minister for nearly 13 years. I can do this without tears.” Actually, I’ve never been able to, and I didn’t believe my own pep talk that Sunday either. At his bedside, my tears fell while my I prayed “…comfort him with the promise of life everlasting, given in the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Driving home, I wondered, is this why people put up 8-foot privacy fences, keep closed garages, and live like vampires, even in closely packed suburban neighborhoods like ours? With all the talk of “community” that swirls about our neighborhoods, churches, and schools, we talk too little of how painful it is. Community does mean love, connection, friendship, and feasting; but it also means loss, separation, disappointment, and death. Rejoicing with those who rejoice must include weeping with those who weep (Romans 12:15). We cannot “cross the road” from our neighbors’ suffering like those in Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan.
Wendell Berry said, “Healing is impossible in loneliness; it is the opposite of loneliness. Conviviality is healing. To be healed we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of Creation.” Deep “conviviality” or friendliness is rooted, not in pleasantries and small talk, but in suffering. True community brings healing to those who hurt, and it cannot be attained any other way. The Lord has made us for community, with Himself and one another, but not for community in mere abstraction. It is a community forged in tears, and when we experience it – even in the midst of its weeping – it is a beautiful thing.
An Exhortation by Pastor Brian Phillips to Holy Trinity Church on October 18, 2015
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:35-45
James and John approach Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” That sounds absolutely outlandish to us, not because we haven’t thought the exact same thing, but because most of us would never be honest enough to say it out loud.
Jesus plays along, asking them what they want, to which James and John reply, “Grant to us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” The other disciples are angered by this, perhaps because they didn’t think to ask first. Their angry reaction was just a sin of a different kind and Jesus uses the opportunity to tell them that they have no idea what they are asking for – “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Jesus is using sacramental language of baptism and communion, but He is referring to His own suffering and death.
James and John would participate in that baptism and communion, as we do, but they did not realize that it was an act of dying to self, not exalting self. We need to take two reminders from this passage. First, Christ came to serve, not to be served and we are to walk as He walked – serving others, not seeking to be served. Second, serving Christ means dying to self. When we are baptized, the old man is washed away and we are called to walk as new men in Christ. When we take communion, we are communing with Christ in His body and blood, which were given in death. When we take the bread and wine, we are reminding ourselves of the need to die to self and live for Christ.
Pastor Brian's Exhortation to Holy Trinity Church on October 11th, 2015
“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Mark 10:17-22
When this young man asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life, Jesus quotes all of the commandments that specifically address his relationship to other people. When the young man claims to have faithfully kept those commands, Jesus adds something – go and sell all you have and give it to the poor.
Wait! That’s not one of the commandments, is it? Yes, it is. In fact, it is the one the young man most needed to hear – “You shall have no other gods before me.” The young man was sorrowful because his riches were his god. He wanted eternal life, but not enough to receive it as a child – with complete abandonment of himself into the arms of Jesus (v. 15). He wanted the kind of faith that made him feel assured that he was okay, without requiring anything of him. But, that kind of faith does not and cannot save.
Do we believe Christ’s words that the last will be first, that those who lose their lives will find them, that the poor in spirit receive the kingdom of God? “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
The rich young man was too easily pleased. As C.S. Lewis said, "It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Originally published by The CiRCE Institute (used by permission)
by Brian Phillips (Pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church)
Christ as Temple, Food, and the New Jerusalem
Only the Gospel of John records Jesus’ meeting with the woman at the well. Only John records Jesus’ declaration of Himself as “the living water.” Only John tells of the miracle at Cana – the turning of water into wine, an echo of baptism and the communion feast. Only John mentions Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, in which He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” And John’s is the only Gospel to record this detail of Christ’s crucifixion.
“Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:31-34).
Certainly, this detail echoes all of John’s previous allusions to Christ as water (4:13-14, 7:37-38), but it does much more. The piercing of Christ’s side introduces another echo, back to Ezekiel 47.
“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through” (verses 1-5).
Christ is the water, but He is also the temple. After Jesus entered the Temple in John 2, overturning the tables of the money-changers and swindlers, He told the disciples about His upcoming death and resurrection, describing it in these terms: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up…but he was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2:19, 21). The real temple is Christ.
While not recording the water and blood coming from Christ’s side, the other three Gospel writers describe the Temple veil, which is Christ’s flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20), being torn in two at His death (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45).
Ezekiel continues:
“And he said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen this? Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing’” (verses 6-12).
Jesus is the Temple and the water flowing from Him waters the earth, filling it and producing food - fish, trees, and fruit. If we are thirsty for righteousness, Jesus is living water that quenches the earth, and gives the Spirit of righteousness. If we are hungry, Jesus brings forth food. In fact, He is food, the bread of life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:47-51).
The picture of Christ as water, Temple, and food (not to mention light) finds completion in another of John’s writings, Revelation:
“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (21:22-22:2).
"Man is a hungry being. But he is hungry for God. Behind all the hunger of our life is God. All desire is finally a desire for Him. To be sure, man is not the only hungry being. All that exists lives by “eating.” The whole creation depends on food. But the unique position of man in the universe is that he alone is to bless God for the food and the life he receives from Him."
- Alexander Schmemman, For the Life of the World
On Sunday, October 11th, we will take a brief hiatus from 1st John to remind ourselves of what God does to, in, and for us in the sacraments of baptism and communion.
We will look at several passages, beginning in Matthew's Gospel 3:11-17 and 26:26-29, then moving to quite a few others as we connect baptism and communion to the Old Covenant sign of circumcision and the feasts.
We have the joyful privilege of celebrating the baptism of little Benjamin Cranford and welcoming him into the Church as well!
Exhortation at Holy Trinity Reformed Church (October 4, 2015)
“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them” (Mark 10:13-16).
In the Gospels, we see Jesus angry with the money changers in the temple, we see Him angry with the Pharisees on occasion, but here Jesus is not just angry but “indignant” with the disciples. Why? Because they would not let the little children come to Him.
The parents of these children, it seems, believed that just the touch of Jesus would bless their children. The disciples did not. Jesus, they thought, surely had more important things to do. Jesus disagreed, and it was not the parents who were rebuked for being “superstitious,” but the disciples for their unbelief. In fact, Jesus commends the simple trust of these children and, I would add, their parents, who believed that their children simply needed to be near Jesus. “And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”
Having children in the church service is not always easy. They "whisper" loudly, they fidget, cry, drop things, spill things, and can distract entire rows with their smiles. But, Jesus wants them near. Not just in the same building, but near Him, where He may bless them with His Word, His body, and His blood.
This is the most basic reason, we baptize little ones - because Jesus wants them near Him. We give little ones communion because Jesus wants them near Him. And because Jesus blessed the simple faith of both these children and the parents, we cannot take this lightly. The touch of Christ matters, so may God grant us to “receive the kingdom of God like a child,” for our children and ourselves.
On Sunday, October 11th, our congregation will join with the saints of Trinity Lutheran Church to honor their annual Homecoming Sunday. Join us for a great time of feasting, conversation, and mutual celebration as the Body of Christ!
Where: 3747 Trinity Church Road, Concord, NC
When: Sunday, October 11th @ 12:00 (after morning worship)
Miscellaneous: Bring food if you can!
Originally published by The CiRCE Institute (used by permission)
by Brian Phillips (Pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church)
Christ as Water, the Gospel of John, and Listening for Echoes
In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” In the previous Beatitudes, Jesus spoke of those who are “poor in spirit” (verse 3), those who “mourn” (verse 4), and those who are “meek” (verse 5), those who are "hungry and thirsty" (verse 6); none of which carry the appearance of righteousness or strength. Those who are blessed by God are those who are needy and know it.
It is a strange paradox of the Kingdom that those who are the neediest are those who are most blessed. The one who dies will live. The one who loses his life will find it. The one who is first shall be last, while the last shall be first. The one who humbles himself will be exalted. The one who is wise in his own eyes will be shown a fool, while the one who cries out in need of wisdom will be given it. All such needs are filled in Christ.
The language of hunger and thirst frequently appears in Scripture. David prays, in Psalm 42:1-3, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me continually, ‘Where is your God?’” Expressing his great thirst and hunger for God, David found only tears for food.
But David answers his own soul in verses 5-7 of the Psalm: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.”
What happens to those who hunger and thirst for God? They are filled. David was fed and quenched by his tears for a time, but God answered him with deep waterfalls, breakers, and waves over him.
Isaiah 55 provides a similar picture: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”
God has compassion on the hungry and thirsty. Verses 6-7 of the same passage says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
When man hungers and thirsts for righteousness, what does God do? Verses 10-11 say, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God’s compassion and mercy are not merely enough, they are overwhelming. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness with water from the very heavens (“rain and snow”), with bread to eat and with seed – that is, plenty of bread to come.
Earlier, in Isaiah 12:1-3, “You will say in that day: ‘I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.’ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Jesus alludes to this passage in the Gospel of John chapter 4. There He met a Samaritan woman to whom He identified Himself as “living water.” He said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13). Later, in John 7:37-38, Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Jesus flows with the rivers of living water and those who come to Him receive the Spirit of righteousness (John 7:39) and they too will flow with rivers of living water. No longer thirsting for righteousness, they will overflow with it.
Only the Gospel of John records Jesus’ meeting with the woman at the well. Only John records Jesus’ declaration of Himself as “the living water.” Only John tells of the miracle at Cana – the turning of water into wine, an echo of baptism and the communion feast. Only John mentions Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, in which He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
Such beautiful connections, echoes, or traces are found throughout Scripture and, indeed, all of life because all reality is rooted in the Triune God Himself, and incarnate in the Person of Christ. Learning to listen for such echoes is a source of joy in reading, teaching, and all of life.
