Family Worship

As a family read Romans 2:1-16 and note the following:
1. How many times the word ‘judge’ ‘judged’ or ‘judgment’ is used?
2. Who is doing the judging?
3. Who is being judging?
4. Why are they being judged?
5. With what are they being judged?
Pray that you and your family may escape the judgment of God as you look at God’s judgment in Christ.

Nuts and Bolts

Evidently in some parts of our country the U.S. Constitution needs a warning label.

In sports, the Big 12 becomes the Big 10 and the Big 10 becomes the Big 12.

At the recent Southern Baptist Convention (the denomination my fellowship is a part of) a resolution on family worship was passed by the messengers.  Here is the complete resolution:
WHEREAS, The Bible teaches the spiritual discipline of family worship for the glory of God, the strengthening of the church, and the spiritual nourishment of the family (Deuteronomy 6:1-18; Psalm 78:1-8; Ephesians 4-6); and

WHEREAS, Scripture pictures the Christian home as a place in which parents are instructed to teach and disciple their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:1-18; Ephesians 6:1-4); and

WHEREAS, Family worship has been a cherished Southern Baptist principle reflected in church covenants which have called believers “to maintain family and secret devotions” and “to religiously educate” their children; and

WHEREAS, In recent years, family worship has been emphasized in The Baptist Faith and Message, which states that “Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth”; and

WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have launched major initiatives which have brought to the forefront the need for families to pray, read from the Bible, memorize scripture, and give praise to the Lord within their homes; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention included family worship as a key catalyst for a Great Commission resurgence calling on Southern Baptists “to build gospel-saturated homes that see children as a gift from God and as our first and primary mission field”; and

WHEREAS, Family worship is integral to laying a foundation for multi-generational faithfulness to the gospel (Psalm 145:4) and a necessary complement for the strengthening of the local church to fulfill its commission (Matthew 28:18-20); and

WHEREAS, Family worship serves as an important preparation for the corporate worship of the local church on the Lord’s Day (Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:25); and

WHEREAS, In recent generations, the act of family worship has been neglected, evidenced by the breakdown of the family in our time; and

WHEREAS, The embracing of the spiritual discipline of family worship in the Christian home has the capacity to nurture stronger families, a stronger church, and a stronger nation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 15-16, 2010, encourage churches and families to rekindle the spiritual discipline of family worship; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we define family worship as the regular meeting together of a family for a time of prayer and Bible reading, which may include other activities such as scripture memorization, singing spiritual songs and hymns, and discussing biblical truth and Christian mission; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage families to cultivate not only structured times of worship together, but also ongoing intentional and informal conversations about the things of the Lord; and be it further

RESOLVED, That as we call families and churches to embrace family worship, we urge fathers particularly to fulfill their divinely mandated responsibility to lead their families toward spiritual maturity (Ephesians 5:22-6:4; Colossians 3:19-21); and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage all parents to consider times of family worship to be an opportunity to introduce their children to the gospel, to train their children to seek the salvation of their friends and neighbors, and to pray for the nations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage churches and families to make use of the many resources produced to aid in family worship; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we urge the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention and their pastors to promote family worship and encourage the families of their congregations to place the highest priority on embracing this foundational spiritual discipline for the well-being of families, the spread of the gospel, the making of disciples, and the glory of God.

For all you Chronicles of Narnia fans, the third installment, “The Voyage of Dawn Treader” will be released later this year.  You can watch the trailer here.

To the Garden we Go...

Here is a potted combination of annuals I put together.  There are two pots of the same kind of petunias, salvia, and rosemary.

Noah is helping me harvest some of our strawberries from our new bed.  We are now eating strawberries every day.

Around one side of our house, I put in a raised bed two years ago.  It always bears a good harvest of something.  I rotated crops in it throughout the season so the same vegetable doesn’t grow two straight. These pictures show Noah harvesting our snow peas.  They like all the other crops he picks never gets to the kitchen.  We are picking peas about every other day.  We have a windmill perched in the center of the bed which supports our pole beans.  To the left of the raised bed, you will notice our sacks filled with potatoes. 

Coffee with Edwards

Ten More Questions with a Fictitious Interview Based on His Real Writings

B.A.-“In our day, evangelicals put a premium on purpose sentences or philosophy of ministry.  Would you describe yours?”

J.E.-“God himself is the great good which the redeemed are brought to the possession of and enjoyment of by redemption.  He is the highest good and the sum of all good which Christ purchased.  God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls.  God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory.’ 

B.A.-“You have written much on the legitimacy of revival.  Can you explain some the elements from your first revival between 1735-1737?”

J.E.-“Our public assemblies were then beautiful, the congregation was alive in God’s service, everyone earnestly intent on the public worship, every hearer eager to drink in the words of the minister as they came from his mouth; the assembly in general, were, from time to time in tears while the Word was preached; some weeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for the souls of their neighbors.” 

B.A.-“And what followed?”

J.E.-“The converts grew in number, and soon the congregation outgrew its building.  And here the revival fervor became smothered by the selfish interests, scheming, and posturing the members.  The wealthy citizens of the town vied for the most prominent pews in the new meetinghouse under construction.  Factions and backbiting ensued, and grew at a fever pitch.”

B.A.-“And out of this experience you preached a sermon to address it?”

J.E.-“Yes.  I called it ‘Peaceful and Faithful Amidst Division and Strife’.”

B.A.-“And what was the fellowship’s reaction?”

J.E.-“Eventually the parishioners at Northampton once again began taking their faith seriously, and once again revival came.  But this time it moved far beyond the bounds of the Connecticut River Valley, reaching throughout New England and beyond to encompass the colonies. 

B.A.-“and this revival was called “The Great Awakening”?

J.E.-“Yes, the Great Awakening, from roughly 1740-42, coincided with the trips of George Whitefield to the colonies.”

B.A.-“This was around the time of your famous sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’?”

J.E.-“Correct.  I preached this sermon the first time at Northampton with little impact.  A few months later, I was at Enfield, Connecticut, a healthy horse ride down the Connecticut River from Northampton.  I wasn’t there to preach, but to be preached to.  The intended minister however was too ill to preach, and I just happened to have the sermon manuscript in my saddlebag.”

B.A.-“This is a grim and weighty message.   Is it illustrative of the rest of your preaching?”

J.E.-“I don’t think so.  Most of my sermons will emphasis concepts such as: ‘sweetness’, ‘beauty’, ‘happiness’, ‘joy’, ‘pleasure’, ‘excellency’, and ‘delight’ .  And even “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is no exception.  In addition to the imagery of God’s wrath, there is also the imagery of God’s mercy.  Consider this example: “Now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has flung the door of mercy wide open and stands in calling, and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners.” 

B.A.-“Through this sermon and the ‘Great Awakening’ you became an ‘expert’ on revival.  Your first sermon on this subject was ‘A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections’ (1746), which has to be only rivaled by ‘Sinners’ as your most popular work.  How would you describe the work?

J.E.-“ In this work I explored the nature of affections, what may not necessarily count as true signs of religious affections, and what counts as true signs.  The 12^th and final sign of genuine religious affections is given as the life that bears fruit.  This is quite instructive given the context I found myself with the revivals.”

B.A.-“So this grew out of your own experience?”

J.E.-“Most definitely.  I witnessed incredible enthusiasm for Christ at the height of the Awakening.  But then the commitment faded, leaving me rather confused.  In my thinking, revival was no mere academic issue.  I was a pastor, and had a deep and abiding concern for the spiritual state of those under my care.  I learned through this experience that the Christian life is not a sprint, but a marathon. 

The revivalism approach to living the Christian life can tend to make it one that consists of fits and spurts.  I came to see that it was lived out, consistently, over the long haul.  In the tradition of the Puritans, I viewed the Christian life as a pilgrimage, a journey of progress toward heaven.  This approach emphasizes a consistent living out of the Christian faith in all aspects of life, and even, or perhaps especially, in the ordinary experiences of daily living.  The revivalism mentality tends toward highs and lows, with not much to say to ordinary experiences.” 

John Piper 'Bad'

This is a dated video.  But I thought I would bring it out of the vault to whimsically prove the point of Sunday’s sermon. 

Whitefield and the Tomb of Lazarus

George Whitefield (1714-1770), was a fiery, passionate preacher of the Gospel.  In the following sermon on Ephesians 2, he likened the sinner to dead Lazarus whom Jesus called forth from the grave.  I quoted this yesterday in my message.   

“Come, you dead, Christless, unconverted sinner, come and see the place where they laid the body of the deceased Lazarus; behold him laid out, bound hand and foot with graveclothes, locked up and stinking in a dark cave, with a great stone placed on top of it.  View him again and again; go nearer to him; be not afraid; smell him, Ah! how he stinks.  Stop there now, pause a while; and while you are gazing upon the corpse of Lazarus, give me time to tell you with great plainness, but also with a greater love, that this dead, bound, entombed, stinking carcass, is but a faint representation of your poor soul in its natural state;…your spirit which lives in you, sepulchered in flesh and blood, is literally dead to God, and as truly dead in trespasses and sins, as the body of Lazarus was in the cave.  Was he bound hand and foot with graveclothes?  So are you bound hand and foot with your corruptions; and as a stone was laid on the sepulchre, so there is a stone of unbelief upon your stupid heart. Perhaps you have lain in this estate, not only four days, but many years, stinking in God’s nostrils. And, what is still more effecting, you are as unable to raise yourself out of this loathsome, dead state, to a life of righteousness and true holiness, as ever Lazarus was to raise himself from the cave in which he lay so long.  You may try the power of your boasted free will, and the force and energy of moral persuasion and rational arguments (which, without doubt, have their proper place in religion); but all your efforts, exerted with never so much vigor, will prove quite fruitless and abortive, till that same Jesus, who said ‘take away the stone’ and cried ‘Lazarus, come forth,’ also quicken you.  This is grace, graciously offered, and grace graciously applied.  Or as the Confession [Westminster Confession] originally puts it, ‘grace offered and conveyed.’”

Coffee with Edwards

Fictitious Questions based on the real writings of Jonathan Edwards

B.A.-“When did you meet Sarah?”

J.E.-“I met Sarah when I was twenty, and was tutoring at Yale. She was thirteen when we first met.”

B.A.-“Was it love at first sight?”

J.E.-(I imagine a stoic look here) “I remember day dreaming at her while studying Greek” (which isn’t difficult. “I noted this in my textbook, ‘They say there is a young lady who is loved of that Great Being, who made and rules the world, and that there are certain seasons in which this Great Being, in some way or other invisible, comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight; and that she hardly cares for anything, except to meditate on Him…You could not persuade her to do anything wrong or sinful, if you would give her all the world, lest should offend this Great Being. She is of a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and universal benevolence of mind; especially after this Great God has revealed himself to her mind. She will sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly; and seems to be always full of joy and pleasure…She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have some one invisible always conversing with her’.”

B.A.-“She must have been an incredible woman at thirteen. What were some of her other characteristics?”

J.E.- “She was from one of the most distinguished families in Connecticut. Her education had been the best a woman of that era typically received. She was accomplished in the social skills of polite society. She enjoyed music and knew how to play the lute. People who knew her mentioned her beauty and her way of putting people at ease.”

B.A.-“And when were you married?”

J.E.- “We were married on July 28, 1727. She was 17, and I was 24. I wore a new powdered wig, and a new set of white clerical bands given by my sister Mary. Sarah wore boldly-patterned green satin brocade.”

B.A.-“It was a good marriage correct?”

J.E.-“Sarah complimented me well. She was outgoing while I was introverted, shy, and uneasy with small talk. I ate sparingly and was not a drinker. I simply was not full of social graces.”

B.A.-“What were your study habits like?”

J.E.-“I would often write out my sermons as much as five times before preaching it. I would think deeply and often about a subject, mulling ideas over in my mind, taking them apart and putting them together with other ideas, and testing them against other parts of God’s truth. I would often become so engrossed in thought and study, that I would not want to be interrupted for dinner. I would often be in study some thirteen hours a day. This included lots of preparation for Sundays and for Bible teaching. But it also included the times when Sarah came in to visit and talk or when parishioners stopped by for prayer and counsel.”

B.A.-“In one of your journal entries you recommend rising early for prayer and study?”

J.E.-“ Yes. I think Christ has recommended rising early in the morning by his rising from the grave very early. So I would awake early. The family’s routine through the years was to wake early with me, to hear a chapter from the Bible by candlelight, and to pray for God’s blessing on the day ahead. I then would do physical labor sometime each day for exercise-for instance, chopping wood, mending fences, or working in the garden. But Sarah had most of the responsibility for overseeing the care of the property. In the evening we might ride into the woods for exercise and fresh air and to talk. And in the evening we would pray together again.”