Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who understand that it is the word of God which nourishes the hungry soul – these will thrive, because their diligence to come to the Master’s table will be rewarded.
Our goal is to make disciples. The original disciples of Jesus were likely teenagers, according to the custom of the rabbis of His day. And like any pack of twelve ravenous, growing teen boys, they probably put away a goodly amount of food when the Rabbi from Galilee and His entourage came to call. Those who have that kind of hunger to feast with Jesus on His words of life will be filled.
The parents who understand that it is their duty and responsibility to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord will do well and their children will flourish by their parents’ faithful discipleship.
Christianity is not some sentimental journey “suitable for pale curates and pious old ladies.” It is the way of obedience which requires great courage, grit, and biblical masculinity to lead in the spheres God has ordained for each man. We must fight for what we love and seek the wisdom to not break bruised reeds while we storm the gates of hell. We want to develop each man to be “temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance” (Titus 2:2).
Those who fully embrace God’s vision for women by His design and reject cultural lies of feminism will do well as they grow in discernment and stewardship of their gifts to bless those around them. Those more mature will take up the charge of Titus 2:3-5 “to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
Evangelicals tend to talk a big game about how they want community and fellowship, but their behavior sadly shows that they don’t. That’s because to engage with others on a deep friendship level means that flaws and sins will be exposed. To know others is to be known.
But at our church, through table fellowship and participatory worship and being invited into each others’ homes and families, you will be loved and known – warts and all. That may be intimidating for the churchgoer who likes to be anonymous, but it is necessary for growth and at the heart of what it means to be counted in our number. If you need friends and are willing to be a friend, you are most welcome. We are the family of God together – brothers and sisters.
The Gospel is not a suggestion, but rather a command to all people everywhere to repent from sin and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. Many have believed, walked an aisle, raised a hand, or prayed a prayer, and have been assured of salvation from hell and a ticket to heaven; then returned to an unaffected life, having been promised fire insurance, biding their time until the sweet by and by. This easy-believism is not the work of the Gospel, because true salvation imparts the gift of the Holy Spirit, who necessarily works to sanctify us.
Eternal life in Christ is not only a future state or quantity of life, but rather an ongoing quality of life, which begins with God’s regeneration of the spiritually dead, here and now. The Gospel is not merely the elementary how-to of salvation, but rather a life-giving, life-changing, life-directing announcement that the Kingdom of God is in effect. We are all the heralds of that message and subjects of that King.
As such, our lives on earth ought to have a gravity that draws others in through laughter, feasting, beautiful living, forgiveness, grace, fierce love, dedication to one another, fruitfulness, and an uncompromising commitment to the truth. Jesus our Sovereign has made our mission clear, which we fully intend to execute – to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that He has commanded.
The Lord’s Day occurs once a week, and it is in this creational rhythm of sabbath rest that we are to participate in corporate worship, not just when we have nothing better to do. Regular attendance and service is expected of those who profess to have a share in Christ’s Body, and those who are “lightly committed” will derive little enduring benefit when they do come.
There is much to be discouraged about in most evangelical churches, and most of us have particular incidents or trends we noted which can lead to cynicism, jadedness, a rebellious spirit, and unforgiveness. This church is no place for ongoing grumbling about past or present experiences in this or any former congregation. Such grumbling is a serious sin, enough to bring the children of Israel wandering in the desert under the judgment of God more than once. Those who want a synagogue of the discontent should go and be reconciled – if possible – before entering God’s house.
Those Christians who have certain expectations of a program-rich environment designed to entertain and provide a broad menu of ministry opportunities within the church will be disappointed. Likewise those who expect the church to shoulder the burden of the spiritual upbringing of their own children and youth without their chief influence in the matter will be let down.
This church is in the business of the Great Commission, which is to say we make disciples who conduct ministry and witness outside the church, day in and day out, in a million humble efforts with those in their homes, their workplaces, and the public square. The church’s job is to equip young and old to go out and serve each other and their neighbors, seizing territory for the Kingdom of God.
Discipleship and sanctification is an ongoing lifelong process of learning, repenting, refining, and adjusting. Sometimes old learned habits or falsehoods under which we have labored must be abandoned. Tradition is good, so long as it anchors us to the historic, orthodox truths of the Bible. Hidebound stubbornness and nostalgia and a refusal to press into deeper learning is not maturity, but rather childish.
G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” This is true – however remembering the simple fact that some seemingly solid things, once sufficiently tasted, ought to be spit out in pursuit of the better. It is a mark of Christian maturity to tenaciously hold on to the essentials of the faith while cautiously chewing those secondary and tertiary matters and being willing to adjust our commitments accordingly as one continues to learn.
Jesus is the Head of the Church and is presently King over all Creation – all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. As such, we acknowledge Him not only as Chief Shepherd over the Church but as our Divine Monarch to whom all earthly authorities must acknowledge and serve.
In the church, there are under-shepherds we call elders who are to lead the local congregations, assisted by deacons who serve the flock. While everyone has a voice to which these shepherds should know and respond, not everyone gets a vote on all matters. Modern western democracies are not the pattern for the church, no matter how much one might like that idea.
As a side note, those who love org-charts and multilayered bureaucracies of committees will likewise be disappointed.
Most evangelical churches today are lead by men of insufficient courage for the times. But according to Revelation 21:8, the cowardly are among the first listed of those who will have a part in the Lake of Fire. Therefore our fear of God must supersede our fear of man. Tyrannical forces war against the Kingdom of God, but their doom is sure. It is a Christian duty to defy tyrants, not with a revolutionary spirit, but with ultimate allegiance to our King Jesus, working to bring all of life under His authority, including the civil government (which by no means has authority over the Church.)
Well-placed fear of God displaces fear of man, leading us to mortify our own sin first through repentance. We also believe in a process of biblical Church discipline for the edification of individual believers, which begins with the brave step of self-examination, and then approaching a brother or sister in sin one-on-one. It also takes courage to be a godly husband or wife and fulfill one’s marriage covenant.
If you struggle with cowardice, as we all are prone to do, you are most welcome here. You just can’t get comfy that way. The Kingdom advances through men, women, and children bravely resisting the onslaught of the enemies of God.
We are a Christian church, not some syncretistic, blasphemous amalgamation of religions. Jesus has but one chosen people of God, as it has ever been. He is our one Shepherd with his one flock (John 10:16). What began with a called-out people with Abraham has been fulfilled through God’s covenant promises, and not merely to one ethnic group in one geographical location on the earth, but in a far better New Covenant whose members are secured for eternity by God Himself (Revelation 5:9). The true people of God have always been the ones who trusted in the promise of Christ before His advent in the flesh 2000 years ago, and we now are one continuous New Covenant people known as the Church, the true Israel (Romans 9:6-8; John 8:39-47). This is not a replacement, but a fulfillment. Jesus the Messiah is the final and perfect Sacrifice, Temple, and High Priest. We are not going to return to the shadows when the Substance of our faith, as promised in all the Old Testament, has come and is seated at the Father’s right hand.
The Gospel, when preached fully and out into the world, is offensive by nature. It insists that people have a ruler over them and that He is against them in their state of high treason. The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18). We do not seek to provoke any unnecessary offense – but preaching the whole counsel of God without pulling punches or apologizing for the text or the character of God does have a provoking effect on the sensibilities of sinners.
The holiness of God and His Law evidenced in both Testaments also has a convicting effect on His children who have been coddled a bit too much with churchy platitudes over the years and have come to expect a culture of niceness and peacekeeping at all costs. These people avoid conflict to maintain a veneer of everything’s-swell while murmuring behind closed doors. We like it when sin is railed against that exists out there. We don’t much like it when the rock of our own life is turned over and all the creepy-crawlies scatter for cover. We often regard the offense of our sin being exposed as greater than the offense of the sin itself against our Maker. God help us.
Within the Body of Christ there are those legalists who like to take offense at others’ liberty they enjoy. In the spirit of the Prodigal’s older brother, they envy the freedom from bondage being celebrated, looking down their nose at the excess of it all. But there should be loud laughter in the Master’s hall, enjoying good company, good food and good drink, celebrating the victory of Christ as He is presently putting all of His enemies under His feet. “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” (I Tim 4:4-5)
If we are bondservants of Christ, we will not again be willingly put under a yoke of slavery from the State or any other worldly power. We will likewise not be ruled by our emotions, nor our fear of man, nor our desire to be liked by the world. Jesus and the apostles were killed for preaching their Gospel. If the world hates us, it is because they hated first the Lord of glory and crucified Him naked in the public square. Let that shocking truth offend the sinner’s sensibilities, and let us proclaim His death until He comes, because it is by that act that Christ reconciles sinners to God through the atonement of His blood.
Let us within the church not be easily offended by the Law of God that required His blood on our behalf, nor by the joyful living that is the outworking of that blood which covers our sins and brings many sons to glory.