2019.04.30 Timeless Tuesday - Letters of Samuel Rutherford, pp108-128

I've picked this one back up after a long hiatus. Rather than do a write-up each day, which discourages my posting, I'll just throw in a snap of whatever I've scribbled about the section, along with one of my favorite quote from the day.

On these "Timeless Tuesdays," we are reading through the full Banner of Truth edition of Letters of Samuel Rutherford. Today, we covered pp108-128, with the following scribbled notes:

And this gem from p127 was my second-favorite quote, but my first (from p128) was providentially quoted by Greenville Seminary today on social media. Here, SR is writing to a noblewoman who is being severely persecuted for faithfulness to Christ in His church:

2019.04.29 Ministry Monday - An Able and Faithful Ministry (Garretson), pp159-172

I've picked this one back up after a long hiatus. Rather than do a write-up each day, which discourages my posting, I'll just throw in a snap of whatever I've scribbled about the section, along with one of my favorite quote from the day.

Samuel Garretson's An Able and Faithful Ministry: Samuel Miller and the Pastoral Office. pp159-172.

And from p169:

190430FW Romans 11:33-12:33 - Gifts from God for His Church to His Glory

Family worship teaching time, following up upon Romans 11:33-12:13 from the Call to Worship, Prayer for Help, Song of Adoration, and Confession of Sin in the Lord's Day morning worship service. We need the Lord to renew our minds by His Word, so that we can offer our whole selves for the service of His church, unto the praise of His glory!

Notre Dame Burned to the Ground

Notre Dame burned to the ground. As far as the building goes, it was just the roof and spire that burned this week. The rest may have to wait until Jesus burns even the elements of heaven and earth in the process of refashioning them for the new creation.

But the whole thing burned all the way to the ground some 200 years after the building was "consecrated," when Trent took Roman Catholicism over the threshold from "decaying church" into "synagogue of Satan" by anathematizing the gospel.

It's far more dreadful for the church, as a living and spiritual organism, to burn than for even the most significant of buildings to be lost. When Solomon's temple was razed, it was a smaller tragedy than the previous 400 years of Judah's spiritual collapse.

"But Notre Dame is a symbol." Stop right there. Christ brought us out of the shadows. Post-ascension, religious symbols beyond the two sacraments are indicative of a church that's burning.

I grieve for France, and Paris, and even beautiful buildings. I wish I grieved more, but my heart is never so soft as it should be. I fall even further short when grieving for churches. I keep hearing that it's holy week. Who says? Men? Certainly not God.

I'm not just hearing this from Roman Catholics. Not just from Evangelicals. Not just from so-called "Continental Reformed" (though we should change the euphemism to "Continental 2/3 Reformed," since the preacta and postacta of the Synod of Dordt would thoroughly shock them).

I hear it from ministers in my own Church. I am subjected to their Facebook ads for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. I am amazed at their articles that throw the word 'catholic' around as if it has anything to do with the organization headquartered in the Vatican. I am dismayed at their dismay at the possible "loss" of dead images, which we confess together are offensive to the living God.

It's not that I'm ungrateful that the Lord has been turning our Church back around to its former, more biblical, doctrine and practice. Rather, I'm alarmed that there's not still alarm, when the fire is not yet out.

To be sure, the heat is diminished. The soundness of the structure as a whole is no longer in question. But the last of the fire still smolders in fairly obvious ways. It needs to be put out. And then the rebuilding and refurbishing can begin and should proceed in earnest.

To be honest, most of the time, I forget altogether to see this reality. Sometimes it takes an historic event to put the rest of our everyday experience into historical (or even biblical) perspective.

O, for a heart that would grieve as it ought for the spiritual state of the Church! O, for a Church that is so enraptured with the reigning, returning Christ who sits on the Throne, that it would shrug at the weightlessness (and grieve at the offensiveness) of all human embellishments that dare go by the name "Christ"ianity.

A First-Day Sabbath Primer

Again and again, I encounter sincere but misguided believers, who think that the church has made some grave error in observing the first day of the week as the Lord's holy day of worship. For some of them, this is because the Spirit's stirring up of their hearts unto love of the Lord and His law has not been met with sound instruction or clear biblical thinking.

Here is a very basic primer, intended to help such as these. I have no delusions that it will satisfy those who are vociferously hostile to the Christian Sabbath. 

Hebrews 4:9 says that there remains a Sabbatismon for the people of God. But the day of observance is established by the Lord Himself as the first day of the week. 

Between the resurrection and the ascension, the disciples literally gathered w/Christ whenever He walked through the wall or appeared out of thin air. Scripture tells us of this happening only on the first day of the week. 

During the apostolic period, 1Cor 14 tells us that corporate worship was dependent upon immediate revelation of the Spirit not only for preaching but also for prayers and even songs. 1Cor and 2Cor both tell us that the Spirit chose to do this on the first day of the week. 

When Paul was racing to Jerusalem so speedily that he wouldn't even take time to go inland from Miletus, he still took an entire day to worship at Troas. On the first day of the week. 

By the time John writes Revelation, he can write "the Lord's Day," and all the churches know what he is talking about. The first day of the week. 

There is still a weekly Sabbath, and God Himself has blessed and hallowed it as the first day of the week. 

Incidentally, the new creation hearkens back to the unfallen creation. Adam's first full day was a Sabbath!

What would you like our Lord's Day keeping to look like?

Obviously, even Calvin had not achieved everything for which he had a strongly biblical desire, such as weekly Supper, by the time he died. And this is exactly right, because no congregation should ever be directed by the whims of an individual (and certainly never by the whims of a congregation!), but always by the Scripture-convicted decisions of a body of elders.

But I've been asked, so here it is. I'm very grateful to God for the growth and maturation over the last year and half--especially among the group that generally tries to keep the bulk of the day well in fellowship with the Lord together.

9:00 a.m. breakfast starts

9:15 a.m. class starts (breakfast continues)

10:15 a.m. class ends

10:45 a.m. announcements and catechism recitations

[11a.m. standing]

Call to Worship

Pastoral Invocation/Adoration/Confession/Thanksgiving (prayer)

     (elder-led, and study-prepared, but still extemporaneous, not a prescripted form prayer)

Scripture Song 

     (metrical psalm/paraphrase/etc--from the passage that called to worship)

Serial Reading

     (extended reading from just one book, with couple sentence elder summary of the teaching)

Psalm

Lord's Prayer

Reading out of sermon text

[11:30a.m.--12:15p.m. sermon]

[12:15p.m.--standing again]

Song of response, singing that which was just opened from Scripture

Benediction

[12:20p.m. congregation files out, meditating upon Word and Sacrament, observing silence until arrival in the Fellowship Hall]

12:30 p.m. lunch begins

    (concerted effort at intergenerational interaction, with adults leading children in

    sermon review, and other Lord's-Day-intentional conversation)

1:15 p.m. catechism class (1/2 hour)

1:15 p.m. concurrent class (communicants/new-members/Q&A/whatever)

[2p.m. standing]

Call to Worship

Pastoral Invocation

Scripture Song 

Second Serial Reading

     (extended reading from just one book, with couple sentence elder summary of the teaching)

Psalm

Reading out of sermon text

[2:15p.m. - 2:45p.m sermon]

All come to the front, where the long tables are prepared with the elements

     Those who have difficulty standing sit along front row

     Others stand at angle, on either side of the tables, permitting as many as possible to be at table

     Non-communicant children stand with their parents

     Non-communicant adults sit in 2nd, 3rd row, etc.

Pastoral prayer 

    (again, elder-led, extemporaneous, asking for application of the sermon 

    and other pressing spiritual needs, including the conversion/obedience of the state,

    the welfare of the church around the world, and spiritual good to be done in current earthly trials,

    concluding with prayer for benefit from the sacrament)

Lord's Supper

    (immediately following the prayer of thanks/blessing: simply read out the words of institution 

    and announce the sacramental benefit in a sentence or two, followed by immediate partaking

    in response to and laying hold of the benefit by faith, without additional mystic quietness,

    first for the bread, and again for the wine)

Benediction at the Table

[AFTERPARTY--party/feast hosted by different congregation household each week, including early supper, a few hours of fellowship, and dispersal to homes so that each household can conclude the day with family review/thanksgiving/prayer and retire to bed in good season to have extra sleep and/or early start on the Monday morning]

===

--"Offering" moved out of the service, since there's no real Bible mandate for it as part of worship

--Creed/confession recitation moved out for same reason

--Supper weekly, in the afternoon service, but swapping the services once each month for those providentially hindered from afternoon attendance

--All form prayers removed

A pastor can dream

190209FW Prov 9:1-6 - Feasting at Wisdom's House

Family worship lesson from the "Proverb of the day"--Proverbs 9:1-6. Wisdom invites us to feast in hear spacious, strong house at hear richly supplied table of strength, health, and joy. This word picture of a life shaped by wonder at the Lord and worship of the Lord reminds us of how silly and foolish we would be to live any other way.

190209FW Genesis 4:6-24 - Getting Killed by Sin or Killing Sin by Grace?

Family worship teaching time from Genesis 4:6-24, preparing for the coming Lord's Day morning sermon. Cain was challenged to be killing his sin, or it would kill him. Alas, he indulged his sin, which turned out to be not so much against his brother as it was against the God of glory and grace. Sadly, we find that we are able to consider ourselves quite glorious while descending into ever more heinous depths of sin.

190208FW John 8:31-59 - Knowing Our Slavery to Know Our Savior

Family worship teaching time from John 8:31-59, the gospel reading in Lord's Day morning's worship. Jesus is talking to people who agreed with certain facts about Him... UNTIL He began to point out that they need Him to be almighty God and their only deliverance from slavery and escape from death. Suddenly, they would rather curse Him and kill Him than continue to agree with Him. Oh how dangerous is spiritual pride, that would keep us from the only Savior!

190207FW 2Cor 1:23-2:11 - Christ's Stops Satan through Our Fellowship

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the epistle reading from 2Corinthians 1:23-2:11 in Lord's Day morning worship. The Lord Jesus has given church members and officers the privilege of being gladdened by one another, as He uses us in one another's lives for good. Satan's attacks on us include both keeping us from doing the hard work of grieving one another when necessary for confrontation or rebuke, and the sometimes harder work of restoring relationship and demonstrating affection once repentance has occurred. In this passage, we learn the kind of fellowship by which Christ designs to defeat the devil in our churches!

190205FW Hebrews 12:22-13:4 - Heaven-and-Earth-Shaking Worship

Family worship teaching time, following up upon Hebrews 12:22-13:4 from the Call to Worship, Prayer for Help, Song of Adoration, and Confession of Sin in the Lord's Day morning worship service. In corporate worship, the Lord brings us by faith into the great worship assembly in glory. From there, He speaks to us by His living Word in the preaching, preparing us to receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken!

190204FW 2Timothy 2:19 - Assurance's Firm Foundation from God: Election and Sanctification

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the Lord's Day morning sermon from 2Timothy 2:19. The Church and true believers will be preserved--a truth that is sealed to us by election and sanctification. Since the Lord has chosen His people in Christ from all eternity, they cannot ultimately fall. And, the fact that He is sanctifying them (causing them, by His Spirit, to use the means of grace and find them fruitful for departing from sin) demonstrates that He is surely saving them.

190128FW Genesis 4:1-5 - The Difference between a Cain and an Abel

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the Lord's Day morning sermon from Genesis 4:1-5. Children of parents who express faith in Christ have so much promise--and so much promised concerning them. But since some do turn out to be of the evil one, what is it that makes the difference? It is faith in Christ, which also produces fruit in the life.

190125FW John 8:12-20 - Jesus Is the Only Light by Which We May Know God

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the Lord's Day morning gospel reading from John 8:12-20. Having identified Himself as the manna from heaven, and the rock to which we can come for living water, Jesus now takes it a step further: He Himself is the One who appeared as a glory cloud and a pillar of fire. Now, He declares Himself to be not only the light of the Hebrews, but the light of the entire world. If we are to know God truly at all, then we must know Him as God who has revealed Himself in Christ!

190124FW 2Cor 1:8-14 - God WILL Give You More Than You Can Handle

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the Lord's Day morning epistle reading from 2Corinthians 1:8-14. God gives us troubles that are above our strength, so that we will not trust in ourselves. He gives us troubles that make us despair of life, so that we will trust in Him who alone can deliver from death. Since what we all need is what only the miraculous power of God can accomplish, He makes it utter foolishness to try to accomplish it by worldly wisdom. Instead, He gives us the privilege of praying and obeying--so that when HE has accomplished His good will, we will have enjoyed the privilege of being used, but HE will get ALL the praise!

190116FW Josh 13:1-6 - Our Fleeting Labor Established and Employed by Our Faithful Lord

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the Old Testament reading from Joshua 13:1-6 in corporate worship, this past Lord's Day morning. Already we have come from the beginning of Joshua's administration to its winding down. Lord, teach us to number our days! Just as in Moses's life, so now in Joshua's, the Lord has faithfully accomplished all that He set out to do. The land is conquered and ready for marking out each tribe's inheritance. Yes, there is more driving out/possessing to do, but the Lord will be faithful in future generations as well. Whatever part He has assigned to our lives, He will surely be faithful to keep all of His promises in bringing about the effects of Christ's finished work and victory. So,let us trust in Him, and do whatever is our part with zeal, confidence, and joy.

190111FW John 7:37-53 - Humble Thirst for the Rock that Is Christ

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the gospel reading from John 7:37-53 in corporate worship, this past Lord's Day morning. At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus identifies Himself as the true and eternal Rock from whom our hearts can be filled with streams of living water, by His Holy Spirit. He calls to the thirsty to come to Him and drink. But, as with the Pharisees, if we think that we are made righteous by knowing the law or that we are better than others, we will not be thirsty. Such pride will keep us from coming to Jesus and send us to unquenchable fire!

190110FW Prov 10:1-3 - Christ Defeats the Curse, Death, and Fallenness in Our Lives

Family Worship teaching time in Proverbs 10:1-3, the "Proverb of the day." The curse was that children would bring agony, but children who trust in Christ and belong to Him can be a joy to their parents by His grace and His Spirit. Death laid claim to us spiritually and physically, but when Christ is our righteousness, sin is no longer our master, and death cannot hold us forever. As the Spirit makes those who belong to Jesus more and more like Him, they grow in right desires and find themselves content in the Lord.

190110FW 1Cor 16:13-24 - Battling That Loves and Loving That Battles

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the epistle reading from 1Corinthians 16:13-24 in corporate worship, this past Lord's Day morning. Christian theology and practice is a battle in which both strength and love are essential. Christ's grace alone empowers this battle, and one of His appointed means for that power is the ministry of the particular elders whom He has given us in our particular congregation.
 

190107FW Gen 3:16-19 - Thy Kingdom Come: the Curses that Christ Reverses

Family Worship teaching time, following up upon the sermon from Genesis 3:16-19 in corporate worship, this past Lord's Day morning. Parenting. Marriage. Work. Central place in the fall. Central place in display of Christ's victorious redemption of His people. We deserve to be a display of death and the devil; but Jesus, who is HIMSELF the image of God, remakes us into His own image!