Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Duties of the Minister of the Gospel.

Duties of the Minister of the Gospel
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

As a minster of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I do well to remember simple and essential truths from Scripture regarding my duties. I know myself and my tendency to veer off course, to pursue hobby-horses, and to do what’s comfortable and to neglect what’s difficult. But to remember God’s glorious, gracious, wise and clear precepts for me to follow as a pastor benefits me and the flock that God has called me to shepherd. Furthermore, it glorifies God for me to remember my God-given duties and my blessed responsibilities as a minister of the gospel. In this essay, I’ll list 5 of them.

1. Pursue God Supremely. (Pursuit)
The Apostle Paul exemplifies a shepherd-like heart with a supreme pursuit in his ministry. He noted that his preeminent desire is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil 3:10). Thus, a pastor’s primary pursuit must not be to build the church, to preach good sermons, to be well-liked, or to be famous and desired. His ultimate ambition must lie solely in the glorious and blessed pursuit of God — and Him alone. Nothing else satisfies. Nothing else is as deep, as worthwhile, as exuberant, as heart-stirring, and as profitable as the pursuit of God! So, as a minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, my heart, my affections, and my time must be geared toward the supreme passion for God!

2. Study Scripture Faithfully. (Preaching)
Perhaps the ultimate responsibility of a shepherd is the faithful feeding of the sheep (2 Tim 4:2). He is to provide the food, guide the sheep to the food, and ensure that it is good, healthy food that will enhance their growth. Similarly, a minister of the gospel must sit himself in the chair as he prayerfully, daily, hungrily, and eagerly studies Scripture for his own heart and then so he can feed God’s flock through the preaching and teaching of Holy Scripture. This demands that I spend a bulk of my time alone, in a room, in the spirit of prayer, with my Bible open, searching, studying, praying over, convicted by, entreating God for illumination, filled with divine happinesses in my study of Scripture. I must study well to preach well to feed God’s precious sheep faithfully.

3. Shepherd Saints Patiently. (Pastoring)
One of the twelve disciples who lived life with Christ and journeyed with him in his public ministry was Peter who later exhorted the elders to “shepherd the flock of God among them” (1 Pet 5:1-2). To pastor well requires time, sacrifice, diligence, intentionality, love, care, and honest concern. To refuse to visit the sick, mourn with the hurting, and care for all of God’s flock is to neglect a vital and commanded part of pastoral ministry. No man can minister the Word effectively from the pulpit who is disattached from the flock of God personally. I must know them so as to minister the Word well to them. I must visit them, teach them house to house, meet with them, counsel their hearts, and point them to the Chief Shepherd!

4. Disciple Men Intentionally. (Passing on)
I am replaceable. No minister of the gospel is irreplaceable. We all pass on but the gospel does not pass away. Faithful ministers of the gospel must take God’s Word and disseminate it to God’s people so that faithful men are entrusted with the Word to teach other faithful men. The baton must be passed on. No man should labor alone. I must prioritize the discipling, the instruction, and theological truths to other men who can lead well in their own homes (with their wives and children) and then lead well in the local flock. Leadership is a shared ministry, never a one-man show. To glorify God, I must prayerfully, intentionally, and expectantly pour myself into other faithful men to see God grow them and use them for His glory!

5. Seek God Prayerfully. (Praying)
Can a man be alone? Can he be alone with integrity? Can he be on his knees frequently and for long periods of time? Does he believe in prayer? Does he believe that his fervent prayers actually move God and change things? If not, he has much to learn about the glory of God and the power of prayer. Let a minister seek God prayerfully for his own heart, for his purity, for his study, for his family, for his effectiveness, for the Spirit’s unction and empowering, and for the Lord Jesus Christ to exude forth in his life, conversations, messages, and counseling. Let every faithful minister remember Isaiah’s words to “give God no rest” and to learn from Hannah who “poured out her soul before the LORD”. Let us happily do likewise!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Approaching the Heavenly Zion [Lessons from the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120-134]

APPROACHING THE HEAVENLY ZION
Lessons from the Psalms of Ascent [Psalms 120-134]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

The collection of 15 Songs of Ascent comprise a hymnal within the hymnal [Psalms 120-134]. This set of poems aided the Jewish pilgrims as they journeyed from their homes to Zion to worship the Lord, with His people, in the Temple for the three pilgrimage feasts (cf. Deut 16:16). For the New Testament people of God, we do not embark on a pilgrimage from our homeland to the Temple to worship God. But we do, however, live as strangers and aliens in this world as we journey from this world to the heavenly Zion. As the Israelites of old meditated on Scripture, sung biblical truths, and anticipated the assembling with the redeemed, so believers today can learn how to approach the heavenly Zion as we trek through life. In this essay, I will provide six reminders as to how we must approach the heavenly zion.

1. Remembrance.
The Songs of Ascent served to remind the pilgrims of the greatness of God and of the necessity of trusting Him in and through hard seasons of life. Remembering God carries the Christian through life. Without simple reminders we as God’s people often forget essential truths. As the pilgrims of old remembered God, so must we as we journey on.

2. Anticipation.
One theme that pervades the Songs of Ascent is the pilgrim’s longing for Zion. O how those who journey through valleys and through the wildernesses anticipate with longing the Temple precincts to worship God with His people. How much more must God’s people today anticipate the future reunion with all God’s people in the heavenly Zion.

3. Endurance.
One hallmark that characterizes every child of God is none other than endurance. All who live godly lives suffer persecution and, yet, they endure and persevere and continue on the journey without giving up. Pilgrims of old endured hardship, hostility, enemies, and struggles and yet endured till they reached Jerusalem. God’s people today must endure through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God.

4. Homesickness.
The worshipers of Israel who trekked many long days felt the homesickness for Zion. O the longing for, and the passion to reach, and the anticipation of residing in the Temple. This world, with all of its struggles and with all of the enemies within it, is not a believer’s home. God’s presence is. Let the church long for the ultimate dwelling of God!

5. Community.
The worshipers who would meditate on the Songs of Ascent would leave their homelands and their unbelieving friends and families to journey to Zion to be with those who love Shalom and to be with the God of Shalom. Let all believers today crave the community of the redeemed. Let not a day pass without praying for the local church and for longing to fellowship with them. Christians must involve themselves in community regularly, faithfully, and happily.

6. Gladness.
Nothing so gladdens the heart of God’s elect than to be with God, with His people, corporately worshiping Him! The travelers who left home and headed for Jerusalem had hearts full of gladness and joy as they longed to worship God with the community. Let believers travel with gladness and joy as they praise God anticipating the heavenly Zion!


More essays & pdfs can be found here.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

The Pilgrimage Songs: Journey On & Sing On... [The Songs of Ascent for the New Testament Christian]

“The Pilgrimage Songs: Journey On & Sing On…”
The Songs of Ascent for the New Testament Christian [Psalms 120-134]
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Psalms 120-134 all have the same superscription (title): “A song of Ascents” [‏שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת; shir ha’maalot]. Scholars have presented various viewpoints as to how ancient Israelites incorporated these psalms as they journeyed to the Zion to worship the Lord. But it seems that the best understanding is that this collection of 15 hymns comprised the devotional hymnbook for Israelites as they would journey to Zion for the three annual pilgrimage feasts (Passover, Tabernacles, and Pentecost). And as they began far away (at home) and traversed upward to Zion they would reflect on divine truth, meditate on these hymns, anticipate the community of worshipers, and long for true Shalom [peace]. But how can New Testament believers today interpret and apply these precious psalms? There is no temple for us. There is no pilgrimage we must take. How can the believer today read and understand these precious, eternal, God-given poems?

As we journey on, as New Testament Christians, how can we benefit from the Songs of Ascent? I  will provide four simple headings to aid in our understanding of these hymns.

1. Singing [Acclaim]
The psalms of ascent are really the songs of ascents. They are to be sung by the Jewish people as they ascend up to Jerusalem to worship. In fact, Isaiah 30:29 clarifies this when the prophet says: “You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, and gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.” So as the pilgrims would obediently journey to the Temple three times a year they would do so with gladness of heart and with songs on their lips. Believers today must also journey with gladness in our hearts and with songs on our lips. Also, Paul instructs believers to encourage one another with songs.

2. Reflecting [Apprehend]
A theme that occurs so often in the Scriptures is that of remembering, reflecting, and apprehending divine truth. How often does God tell his people to “remember”! All though the Torah, through the Psalms and the Prophets, and then into the New Testament, the Lord Jesus institutes two ordinances (baptism and communion) so as to remember Him and His work of redemption on behalf of His people. As the Israelites of old would travel from their homes to Zion, they would meditate upon and remember God’s truth. Without simple reminders, we forget essential truths.

3. Anticipating [Anticipate]
How the hearts of the godly long to be in God’s presence! God’s people crave the community of believers! The psalmist reflects one who lived amongst the wicked and earnestly desired to be where God dwelt, where God’s people gathered, and where worship would occur communally! Believers, today, must also live with anticipation just as the Jews of old who traveled and anticipated more and more the closer they came to Zion. Anticipation grew as they drew near to the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem. So also, our anticipation should grow daily for the heavenly Zion!

4. Gathering [Assemble]
An intimate bond exists between the people of God. There is an unbreakable, eternal, Christ-centered, and happy bond between worshipers who love God, love Christ, love Scripture, and love each other. The pilgrims of old who journeyed to Jerusalem meditated on the need for this commonality amongst the people of God. They longed to gather together. So it is today with us. We gather together regularly, corporately, willingly, and happily for fellowship.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Preach As If You Would Die & Go to Heaven When You're Finished.

PREACH AS IF YOU WOULD DIE & GO TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED.
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

If it were revealed to you that you were about to preach the last sermon you would ever give, how would you preach and what would you do different?

1) Preach Christ & Him crucified. Every preacher must have a central thrust and focus and centerpoint in every sermon. He must herald the Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive work. Not every sermon is a gospel, evangelistic sermon but every message must proclaim Him.

2) Preach with the Spirit's power. The minister must beg earnestly for the Spirit of God to come upon him and anoint him with power and unction. The Spirit makes the words he utters effective. Let every man of God preach every sermon with the Spirit’s empowerment.

3) Preach God's Word faithfully. Preaching takes the Word of God and proclaims its eternal message to the hearers that have gathered so that they know what God has said and that they know how they must respond. To preach faithfully is to be God’s mouthpiece.

4) Preach to save souls. A man ought to never ascend to the pulpit and preach if he thinks that no one may be saved that day. What little faith that poor preacher possesses! He must preach to snatch souls from the eternal fire! He should preach to win people to Christ!

5) Preach to as to feed hungry sheep. Christ’s shepherd loves Christ’s blood-bought sheep. Nothing is so urgently needed among sheep than being fed. They could be coddled, encouraged, and stroked but without food, they will die. Preach Christ to feed hungry souls!

6) Preach with utmost passion. A dull and boring preacher of the gospel is a contradiction in terms. No man can sit having his heart and mind soaked with divine truth and then preach God’s Word without passion. Let a man have fire in his bones as he preaches with the tongs of the divine altar that have consecrated his lips. Indeed, may the Spirit thunder through Him as he preaches passionately to persuade. He heralds for a verdict!

7) Preach to all people present. Many different kinds of people gather to hear the preached Word. There are the truly converted souls who crave to behold Christ in a deeper way and to know in knowledge of Him. There are the outright unbelievers who have no desire to reconcile to God. Indeed, many churchgoers sit under the word who think they stand right with God but who bear no fruits in keeping with repentance. Additionally, there are the procrastinators who think they can persist in sin and then forsake it later on in their lives. Preach to all who gather.

8) Preach as to never preach again. If a man knew he would never preach again, how must this man announce His Master’s message? He must give his all, his energy, his life, his sweat, his prayers, his passion! Nothing less.

9) Preach truth that's gripped your heart. Everyone knows when a man preaches without conviction. A minister won’t compel a congregation to believe truth that has not gripped the innermost parts of his own heart.

10) Preach for the glory of God. Irregardless of how many people may assemble together, a man of God always preaches ultimately to an audience of One. God is there. And God will listen to how the minister takes His own very Word and heralds it and applies it. May preachers preach for the utter magnification of God almighty!

These points should characterize every sermon that the minister preaches. So, man of God, preach as if you would die and go to heaven when you're finished because, soon enough, you will preach your last sermon.

Monday, October 12, 2015

What Is Worship in Heaven Like?

WHAT IS WORSHIP IN HEAVEN LIKE?
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Enhancing worship on earth would greatly increase if believers understood what worship in heaven is like. So, in this brief write-up, let us examine how the Scriptures describe heaven. Let us seek to model heaven’s worship on earth.

1. God-focused.
The worship in heaven focuses on one central, dominant, and inexhaustible subject -- the person of God. The triune God is the focus of heaven and thus is the focus of all worship. If the worship in heaven is saturated with the person, work, glory and personhood of the triune God, then how much more should believers’ worship here be like that.

2. Christ-exalting.
The Lamb of God, seated on His throne, receives praise, worship, adoration, honor, glory, and blessing from the vast multitude of worshipers in heaven. The Lord of glory, the risen and exalted Christ, receives worship as He sits on his sovereign throne. Heaven is Christ-exalting and it is full of delightful joy and worshipful praise to His great name.

3. Corporately loud.
Many multitudes gather corporately to worship the Lord around His throne in glory. God did not design worship to merely be an individual endeavor only. Corporate worship characterizes heaven. Heaven is a world of corporate love as believers love Christ, love each other in pointing each other to Christ, and sing loudly His praises to His renown.

4. Cross-saturated.
Heaven’s worship focuses on the cross of Christ! The Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, who made His people white through the blood of His cross is the apex of worship! The righteousness of Christ, the atonement of the Lamb, and the perfection of redemption comprises the singing, the conversations, the minds, and the thoughts of heaven’s inhabitants.

5. Always enduring.
Worship does not grow old in heaven. After ten million ages have past, heaven’s praises shall not diminish in the slightest. Worship will always endure in heaven. No songs will grow old. The story of redemption will not fade away. The worship always endures and always saturates and always gladdens those who dwell in this eternal dwelling.

6. Loud singing.
If many multitudes of people reside in the new heavens and the new earth and if the elect from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation stand together to exalt the God-Man forevermore, one can only imagine how deafeningly loud this singing must be! Worship in the Old Testament included many instruments, cymbals, vocalists, and choirs. O to imagine how loud, beautiful, breathtaking, and sweet the singing in perfect glory must be!

7. Sinless service.
Worship is not synonymous with singing. Though singing can be an element of worship, worship is much bigger than the singing of songs. Worship is the response of a worshiper to the revelation of God. Worship in heaven includes living life for God’s glory. It will include service to the living God and performing His bidding in the massive expanse of the new earth. Imagine a life of absolutely sinless service to the living God with an always-perfect-attitude and a relentless-pursuit of God’s glory in every act! Let heaven’s worshipful service guide Christians now to serve him in this manner.

8. Entirely pure.
Nothing unclean will enter the new heavens and the new earth. No impurities, no lust, no selfishness, no coveting, no materialism, no sinful temptations, and no deceptions will exist there. Heaven’s worship will wholly be clean, pure, undefiled, and genuine. All the motives to worship God will stem from hearts always and ever filled with divine love and supreme consolations. No wandering minds, heartless songs, or man-fearing dispositions will reside in this place!

9. Eternally happy.
No sadness will ever fill a believer’s heart in heaven. No sickness, no mourning, no pain, no tears will ever be found in glory. The heaven of God is a happy place. The heaven that believers enjoy is a world of ecstatic and exuberant and enthralled happiness in God’s personhood and salvation. No reason will ever be found in heaven for a person to be sad or mournful. No depression, no fears, no anxiety, no worries, and no anger. All is happy because all who live in heaven will be caught up in supreme and everlasting happiness in the triune God and in His love for the Godhead.

10. All-encompassing.
Worship defines all that happens in heaven. From traveling the endless expanse of the new heavens and the new earth, to conversing with God’s elect from all the ages past, to performing God’s bidding and doing His service, to gathering with the redeemed to sing His praises, to musing on the bankless ocean of blessings and graces of the gospel of Christ’s redemption. All that believers do in heaven will be worship. Heaven is a world of perfect worship, joy, peace, blessing, fullness, energy, life and delight. Let believers here endeavor to worship God now in this way.

Biblical Counseling Resources (updated 2015)

Here are some very helpful resources to inform your thinking on biblical ("nouthetic") counseling.



INTRODUCTORY ARTICLES
Is There Any Difference Between Biblical Counseling & Christian Psychology? by John MacArthur and Wayne Mack.
This is a very helpful, brief, and compelling overview showing the vast differences between biblical/nouthetic counseling and the so-called Christian psychology methods.

 What Distinguishes Biblical Counseling from Other Methods? by David Powlison
In this blog entry, Powlison shows how biblical counseling is fundamentally different than other methods because the view of God, man, sin, hope, and change are all vastly different.

 The Mandate for Biblical Counseling by Paul Tautges
There are helpful resources here, quotes, definitions, and he draws the link (rightly so!) between discipleship and biblical counseling.

What Is Biblical Counseling Anyway? by Ed Welch
A very compelling treatment on the importance of defining what biblical (nouthetic) counseling really is.

We Are All Called to Counsel
In this blog, Jeremy Lelak argues that every Christian is called to counsel one another.

What Is Biblical Counseling?
A simple, biblical & compelling definition of what biblical counseling is.

What Is Biblical Counseling? by Jay Adams
Another simple explanation and one-page treatment defining the process of biblical change.


PERIODICAL/JOURNAL ARTICLES
What are Some Affirmations & Denials of Biblical Counseling by David Powlison

 Critiquing Modern "Integrationists" by David Powlison (Journal of Biblical Counseling)

 Idols of the Heart and Vanity Fair by David Powlison

The Sufficiency of Scripture to Diagnose and Cure Souls by David Powlison

 What Is Biblical Counseling Anyway? by Ed Welch

How Does Scripture Change You? by David Powlison


LENGTHIER AND SCHOLARLY TREATMENTS
Counseling the Depressed Person: The Puritan Alternative to Secular Psychology by David Herding (MA thesis) - excellent!

A Christian Directory - A Body of Practical Divinity and Cases of Conscience (Christian Ethics) by Richard Baxter. 
This is a very lengthy Puritan treatment of the sufficiency of Scripture and of Christ to cure the souls of any malady. This is biblical counseling at its finest & Baxter addresses many issues & directly applies Scripture to each. The entire book is FREE on google books.

Puritan Resources for Biblical Counseling by Tim Keller
This is a very lengthy article where Keller shows how biblical counseling — that is, addressing any and every issue with the sufficient and comprehensive Word of God — is nothing new but the Puritans practiced this type of "healing of the soul." Very helpful resource here!

BOOKS:
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
  • Introduction to Biblical Counseling, by John MacArthur, Wayne Mack, The Master’s Seminary Faculty.  
  • Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, By Paul Tripp 
  • Competent to Counsel, by Jay Adams   
  • The Christian Counselor’s Manual, by Jay Adams  
  • A Theology of Christian Counseling, by Jay Adams  
  • The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams, by Heath Lambert
  • Scripture and Counseling, by Bob Kelleman & Jeff Forrey, eds.
  • Christ Centered Biblical Counseling, by James MacDonald, Bob Kelleman & Steve Viars, eds.
  • The Biblical Counseling Movement, by David Powlison
  • Gospel-Centered Counseling, by Bob Kelleman
  • How to Counsel from Scripture, Martin & Deidre Bobgan  
  • The Christian Counselor’s Medical Desk Reference, By Robert Smith, M.D.
EQUIPPING COUNSELORS IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
  • Equipping Counselors for your Church, by Robert Kelleman
  • Power Encounters, David Powlison  
  • Seeing With New Eyes, by David Powlison
  • Christian Psychology's War on God's Word, By Jim Owen 
  • Counseling the Hard Cases, by Stuart Scott, ed. 
  • Biblical Counseling and the Church, by Bob Kelleman & Kevin Carson, eds. 
  • Counseling and the Church, by Deepak Reju
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BIBLICAL COUNSELING & PSYCHOLOGY (AND INTEGRATIONISM)
  • Why Christians Can’t Trust Psychology, by Ed Bulkley   
 ANGER
  • Anger and Stress Management God's Way, by Wayne Mack
  • Anger, Anxiety and Fear, by Stuart Scott
  • The Heart of Anger, by Lou Priolo
  • Living with an Angry Spouse, by Ed Welch 
  • Uprooting Anger, by Robert Jones
HUSBAND
  • The Exemplary Husband, by Stuart Scott
  • The Complete Husband, by Lou Priolo
  • Solving Marriage Problems God's Way, by Jay Adams
  • Strengthening Your Marriage, by Wayne Mack
  • Preparing for Marriage God's Way, by Wayne Mack
WIFE
  • Feminine Appeal, by Caroline Mahaney
  • The Excellent Wife, by Martha Peace
  • The Case of the Hopeless Marriage, by Jay Adams
FIGHTING SIN
  • Mortification of Sin, by John Owen
  • How to Overcome Evil, by Jay Adams
  • The Peacemaker, by Ken Sande
  • Sin and Temptation, by John Owen 
  • How People Change, by Paul Tripp and Tim Lane
FORGIVENESS
  • Bitterness: The Root that Pollutes, by Lou Priolo
  • The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness, by John MacArthur
HOW TO RESPOND TO SUFFERING
  • God's Healing for Life's Lessons by Bob Kelleman
  • A Shelter in the Time of Storm by Paul Tripp
  • When God's Children Suffer, by Horatius Bonar
HOMOSEXUALITY AND RELATED ISSUES
  • Is God Anti-Gay? by Sam Allberry
  • God and the Gay-Christian? by Albert Mohler
  • Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield
  • Homosexuality, by Ed Welch
SPEECH, GOSSIP
  • Resisting Gossip, by Paul Mitchell
  • Practicing Affirmation, by Sam Crabtree
  • If You Bite and Devour One Another, by Alexander Strauch
SEXUAL ABUSE
  • Sexual Abuse, by Bob Kelleman 
  • Is It My Fault? by Justin & Lindsey Holcomb
FIGHTING PORNOGRAPHY
  • Finally Free, by Heath Lambert
  • Sex is not the Problem, Lust Is, by Joshua Harris
  • Sexual Detox, by Tim Challies
DEPRESSION
  • If I'm a Christian, Why am I Depressed? by Bob Sommerville
  • The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams, By Heath Lambert  
MEN COUNSELING MEN
  • Men Counseling Men, by John Street, ed.
WOMEN COUNSELING WOMEN 
  • Women Counseling Women, by Elyse Fitzpatrick & Carol Cornish, Eds.  
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, by Jeremy Lelak
 PERIODICALS/JOURNALS:

WEBSITES

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Glory of the Covenant of Marriage

THE GLORY OF THE COVENANT OF MARRIAGE
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

The Bible speaks of marriage as a covenant. A covenant is a bond, a treaty, a commitment between parties. Proverbs 2:17 speaks of marriage as a covenant. Malachi 2:14 speaks of a woman as a man’s wife by covenant. The Bible describes marriage far more than a mere relationship or a happy friendship. The institution of marriage, as designed by God, is in fact a covenant between both parties to each other and before God.

1. Marriage is a LIFELONG covenant. The marriage relationship was created by God for one man and one woman to leave their parents and to join themselves to each other in an unbreakable bond. Marriage is not to be severed. It should not be broken. It must never be conditional. The covenant of marriage is to endure as long as both persons live. It must be lifelong.

2. Marriage is a DIVINE covenant. Far more than being something that a governing authority or the state created or instituted, marriage is God’s plan. God thought of, defined, provided the parameters of, and wills marriage. This means that the defining of marriage does not rest in the powers and ingenuities of men because God and God alone designed marriage and defined precisely what marriage is. God decreed that one man must leave parents and he must join himself to his wife (who also leaves her parents) and the man and the woman become one flesh. In fact, even Jesus said that it is ultimately God who joins the husband and wife together.

3. Marriage is a WILLED covenant. To live as a married couple, both the husband and the wife must resolve to stay together, to grow together, to communicate together, and they must will -- that is, they must commit -- to remain together as long as life endures. Marriage is a choice and it’s also a commitment. When times get hard and disagreements arise, the covenant should not be broken. Rather, the commitment of both the husband and the wife to one another should strengthen the bond of marriage all the more. Thus, marriage is a willed, deliberate, enduring, and committed covenant one with another.

4. Marriage is a SACRIFICIAL covenant. Just as in the ancient world, the parties who would engage in a covenant would take an animal and sacrifice it as a symbol of faithfulness to the covenant treaty. The meaning was this, if anyone were to break his part of the deal, his end would be that of the sacrificial animal. To live in the covenant of marriage is to sacrifice for the other person, for their good, for their enjoyment. It is a blessed sacrifice and a delightful service. Marriage exists not for me to be served and for me to be happy by what I can get out of it for my pleasure and comfort. Rather, marriage is designed for me to sacrifice me and myself and my aspirations so that I may attain the higher joy and greater blessedness of serving another, sacrificing for their well-being, and seeking to bring them joy and pleasure.

5. Marriage is a PERSEVERING covenant. Covenants in the truest sense of the word do not fail. They endure, they continue, they do not fail. When God brings a man and a woman together in the covenant bond of marriage, it is a persevering covenant because the husband and the wife persevere with each other through all seasons of life, through all ages of life, through all the storms of life, through all the joys of life, and through all the uncertainties of life. True marriage does not fail; it endures. Both parties within marriage resolve at the ceremony before God and witnesses to remain together throughout life and they must persevere in keeping those promises throughout the remainder of their marriage together till they die. True, self-giving, faithful love does not fail.

6. Marriage is a GOSPEL-DEMONSTRATING covenant. The most remarkable reality regarding the marriage covenant is that it points to something bigger. It has always pointed to something greater. The grand design of marriage, by God, was for the covenant of marriage to be a demonstration of a greater covenant. It was to be a picture, if you will, of the reality. It was to be an illustration of a far greater, spiritual relationship. The Bible speaks of this as a mystery. The mystery spoken of was something that existed before but it was unknown, it was veiled, until the proper time when the true and full revelation would come to light. The New Testament clarifies that marriage is a mystery -- it is something that was physical relationship pointing to a spiritual relationship. Both are real. Both are delightful. But the physical marriage relationship on earth always is meant to point to the spiritual relationship between Christ and His Church. Christ, as the Bridegroom, gave Himself for His bride, the Church. The Church, the Bride, submits to her Christ as He is a blessed Bridegroom, a loving provider, a passionate sanctifier, and a promise-keeping lover. This spiritual relationship between Christ and His Bride is pictured through the earthly, visible marriage relationship between a husband and a wife. The husband is called to emulate Christ in loving his wife and sacrificing for her well-being. He is to love her, and lead her, and cherish her, and nurture her. The wife, on the other hand, must submit to her husband in the same way that the church submits to her Savior in all things. This submission is a worshipful, internal, willing, delightful, and glad placing oneself under her husband’s authority that God has lovingly placed over her. That is to say, the covenant bond of marriage is ultimately and always meant to be a pointer to the ultimate marriage and to the eternal union of Christ and His bride. Human marriages will terminate. When a spouse dies, the marriage relationship is over. No one will be married in heaven. But there is a marriage that does not terminate. A covenant marriage does exist that cannot fade away, it does not pass away, and it is eternal. In fact, the fullness of that marriage will really, everlastingly, and passionately be experienced in its fullness after believers die and meet the perfect Bridegroom face to face. Every marriage portrays the gospel. Is your marriage a healthy demonstration of the gospel in this world? In a day in which marriage is mocked, rejected, ‘redefined’, and blasphemed, true marriages that accurately and beautifully present the gospel through a husband’s self-giving and sacrificial love and through a wife’s humble, quiet, and respectful submission are desperately needed. May your marriage be a gospel-demonstrating marriage. May you strive with all your might and by the Spirit’s enabling grace to live and think and serve and conduct yourself in your marriage relationship in such a way that the gospel of Jesus Christ is accurately, beautifully, and clearly presented. If you do this, you will be different. But stick to it. It’s worth it. The ultimate marriage is soon-coming. Soon you’ll meet your eternal, ravishing Bridegroom face to face!

Download the pdf article.

The Privilege of the Lord’s Supper

The Privilege of the Lord’s Supper
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

Believers should prepare ahead of time for communion. In so doing, believers should bear the following points in mind.

REMEMBERING — The Lord’s Supper draws the mind of the believer again back to Calvary to remember Christ and His glory. The communion supper invites the Christian yet again to reflect on Christ’s spotlessness, His righteousness, His atoning sacrifice, His present intercession, His particular redemption, and His soon-coming. Believers must remember Christ and they must stir themselves up to action to serve this Christ, to love Him more, to speak well and often of Him, and to cherish Him supremely!

APPROPRIATING — The work of salvation is accomplished when God grants the new birth. But when believers gather together corporately to take the communion meal, it is as if Christ’s work at Calvary is refreshed and appropriated afresh to the believer. In receiving the bread and in appropriating it to oneself, the Christian remembers how desperate he really is for Christ’s righteousness, His divine blood, and His constant grace. Nothing in this fellowship meal imparts salvation nor does it make one even more sanctified. But in appropriating it and receiving it, the believer is refreshed and comforted.

STRENGTHENING — This meal that Christ commanded His followers to take together provides strength through the storms of life. It provides a constant reminder that Christ died for sinners once for all and that He Himself is all that one needs for salvation, for sanctification, and for a perfect standing before God. This provides strength to the believer who finds himself tossed and turned by the waves of life. It gives courage to the downcast believer battling with sin and temptations.

REVIVING — Communion revives the heart. In diligently preparing for communion, one finds his heart enflamed afresh as he reflects on the great love of God and the undiminished mercy of the Savior! The smoldering wick becomes a mighty flame as the Christian slows down, diligently ponders, biblically meditates, and fills his heart and mind with Christ’s love, His redemption, and His righteousness imputed to the sinner by faith. This revives the struggling heart.

PROCLAIMING — Jesus declared that in taking the communion meal, Christians proclaim Christ to the lost. The Lord’s Supper is in fact a very ‘preaching event’ to the entire gathered community. Undoubtedly nonbelievers sit amongst those who have truly been saved and are partaking of communion. It proclaims Christ to them. It reminds them that the way of salvation is very narrow, very exclusive, very particular, and very limited. There is only one door, one way, one Savior, one cross, one Mediator. The Lord’s Supper proclaims Christ crucified and risen to all present -- even the small children who observe this blessed feast as their parents take it frequently. May God use this ordinance to proclaim Christ to all present so that the lost may be found by fleeing to Christ!

SHARING/COMMUNING — A fascinating reality occurs when the Spirit indwelt believer worships God through the Lord’s Supper. He actually communes with Jesus Christ. He shares with Christ. It is a fellowship meal with Christ Himself. The believer partakes of Christ afresh and reinvigorates his heart with gospel truth as he reflects on Christ’s work at Calvary. As the believer stretches forth his hands to take the elements (bread and the cup) he is, in a sense, stretching forth his hands to commune with Christ and worship Him through the obedient act of sharing in this fellowship meal with Him.

Download the pdf.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Goals of Open Air Preaching

GOALS OF OPEN AIR PREACHING
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

As a minister of the gospel who serves Christ and who serves His Bride, I must remind myself frequently of the goals of open air preaching. I hit the streets weekly to proclaim the gospel publicly, to hand out tracts, to engage in conversations, to hold up gospel-signs, and to call men to trust in Christ. As I frequent the streets to open air preach to the masses, I need to review biblical goals of open air preaching so I remember why I do what I do and to guard me from veering off track. 

It behooves me to remember some of the goals of open air preaching.

1. Preach Christ crucified.
Though Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, the Apostle Paul said, we preach Christ crucified. Paul did not adapt or alter his message to suit the desires of the audience. He came to all people with one message: Jesus Christ, the God-Man, entered the world and lived righteously and he died on Calvary’s cross bearing the full weight of God’s wrath against our sin. In so doing, he became the substitute that took the punishment of sinners and appeases God’s wrath directed toward them. Christ died for sins. He rose up in victory! This is my message. This is my only message. Apart from this, I have nothing to say to the crowds.

2. Rely on prayer.
Evangelism has no power if it is not attended by the Spirit. Prayer takes hold of God and begs God to work through the preached Word so that dead souls might be awakened to new life in Christ. I must rely fully and wholly on prayer. No weapon is available to me that is mightier than prayer. I must rely entirely on prayer. I must pray ahead of time for the preaching and for those who will hear. I must pray for those who will walk by and scoff and ridicule. I must pray for those believers who will be encouraged as the gospel thunders forth. I must beg God to be glorified as the Spirit draws many to the Savior through the message preached in the open air.

3. Exude grace & truth.
Jesus entered the world full of grace and truth. He came and taught the Word of God. He preached the Scriptures. He proclaimed the gospel. He presented the good news and always heralded the truth! As He did this, he perfectly exuded grace. Full, gospel, divine, matchless grace. He modeled a perfect evangelist as one who presented the truth with all grace! He was fully balanced in the giving of the truth with demonstration of heartfelt compassion and grace. I must make it my ambition to exude this kind of Christlike blending of grace and truth in my preaching.

4. Pity the unconverted.
Those who walk by and hear the preached Word are dead souls, walking in living physical bodies, alienated from God, hostile to God, hating the truth, rejecting Christ, and living as self-worshiping idolaters. But I must never be angry with them nor should I retaliate -- ever. I must pity them since they live in darkness, love the darkness, and don’t know anything but darkness. I must see them as sheep without a shepherd and pity their souls and earnestly pray for God to awaken them. I should evidence David’s heart from Psalm 119 that my eyes would shed streams of water because they do not keep your Law (Ps 119:136). I must go on the streets with a genuine brokenness for the lost and a loving, compassionate pursuit of the lost so they may find their Shepherd!

5. Trust the Spirit's work.
As with any evangelism, the duty is mine to obey Christ and proclaim Him to the lost and yet my confidence rests wholly with the absolutely sovereign work of God to save His elect, to draw His own, and to sanctify the redeemed. Even if I see no visible results, I must keep on serving Christ knowing that it’s the Lord Christ that I serve. I must trust and pray and expect that the watering of the gospel-seed will produce much fruit according to God’s will. I go and I continue to go and trust God. I expect Him to work. I pray and ask for many souls to be won for His renown.

What Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

What Is The Gospel Of Jesus Christ?
By: Pastor Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

THE GOSPEL
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of good news that God has provided a way to deliver man from God’s eternal judgment that he rightly deserves because of his sin.

GOD
God is infinitely holy, righteous, just, and good. He is the sovereign King of heaven and earth who made everything and thus owns everything. Everything exists because of Him and for Him. He is infinitely pure and eternally holy. He cannot look upon sin — any sin — with favor. He cannot overlook a sin. Sin is lawlessness and is, therefore, a violation of God’s holy, just, and righteous Law.

MAN
Man is created in the image of God and bears the imprint of God in his being. At the same time, man has become completely corrupted by sin thoroughly. Since Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden, all his posterity — that is, every single human being who has ever been biologically born from his parents — has completely, utterly, eternally, and miserably infected the entire human population with a sin nature. This sin nature permeates man’s being in his thoughts, in his heart and mind, in his deeds, and in his very nature and character. Man is wholly corrupt and radically depraved. He does not love God, nor does he fear God. Man, in and of himself, hates God and hates all that God is.

THE PROBLEM
If God is fair, just, righteous, and good, He must punish sinners — every one. For God to remain just and retain His perfect and good standard of righteousness, he must — as the Judge — fairly, rightly recompense every lawless deed that man has ever committed. Thus, all human beings because they are sinners are fully deserving of the wrath of God. If God were to justify a wicked man or overlook his offense, it would be such an unfair, abominable deed that He would forfeit His very nature of being a just, holy, good, and fair Judge. So then, God cannot forgive man. God cannot accept man. God cannot justify a wicked man. God must eternally condemn man — all men.

JESUS
Yet there is one way of salvation that God established and brought about because man, in his own state, can do nothing to earn his salvation before God. God sent His Son, the God-Man Jesus Christ, to this world so that He may live a perfect life in full obedience to God His Father, the Law of God, and the righteous decrees of God. Then, God ordained that He would slaughter His own Son Jesus Christ in a cruel form of punishment (crucifixion) and there pour out the full weight of His eternal fury and vengeance upon His Son that sinners rightly deserve forever in hell. God, in his mercy and grace, sent Christ to be the propitiatory sacrifice which would turn away His anger and wrathful vengeance from the sinner. The death of Christ, then, was a substitutionary act.

RESPONSE
Being wholly unable to respond in and of himself and totally at enmity with God Himself, man cannot respond in faith. Man is dead in his sin and cannot choose God, love God, please God, or do anything whatsoever to merit acceptance before God. God then calls the sinner to repent of his sin. To repent involves the necessary act of recognizing one’s sinfulness and eternal plight and choosing to turn from that sin in a new direction. At the same time, repentance also includes faith in Jesus Christ. One must believe in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the wrath of God that He bore in the place of believing sinners. This repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for the sinner to be saved.

VERIFICATION
The Bible nowhere hints at confirming a person’s salvation experience because of a decision, a particular act or deed, or even a “sinner’s prayer.” Rather, the Bible everywhere speaks of a person’s works or deeds that essentially validate whether a person has been reborn. Like the wind, one cannot see the wind itself but one can see the effects of the wind. And so it is with the newly regenerated soul, one cannot see the sovereign working of God the Spirit in salvation but one will be able to see the visible fruit that the new changed heart will certainly produce. Thus, rather than one’s mind being set on the flesh it will be set on the things of God and the sinner will strive to present himself as a slave to God and offer all of his instruments as slaves of righteousness to God. The fruit of his life will be characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. There will be a turning from and a hating of sin and a turning to Christ in joyful delight and a genuine passion for holiness and Godly behavior. As Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.”

Click here to watch a video-presentation of the Gospel.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Giving Your Pastor Feedback After a Sermon. Some Helpful Tips.

Giving Your Pastor Feedback After a Sermon...
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

“Good sermon.” “Helpful!” “Interesting.” “Awesome message.” “Thanks, Pastor!” Pastors hear these sorts of comments after sermons from time to time. Some may come more frequently than others. But if you ask most pastors who care about feeding the flock and who have literally emptied all that they have in that hour of heralding, many who approach them after sermons unknowingly do not provide helpful feedback. It’s not necessarily bad. It’s not necessarily harmful. It’s just not the most helpful. Preachers have heard the standard lines that people give on their way out of the church building when they give a brief word before heading home. Ministers have heard those.  But feedback that is more helpful and more thoughtful is what every pastor needs.

Here are a few helpful pointers in giving your shepherd helpful feedback after he has preached the Word of God to you.

1. Be specific in your feedback. Try to frame your feedback around what the message taught you, reminded you, convicted you, and how you need to change in light of the preached Word. Perhaps share one thing that you learned about God’s character, one thing that you saw of Christ & His glory in the text, and one way that the Spirit convicted you of a specific sin that you must mortify. Fight the generalization & be specific.

2. Be careful not to flatter. Don't necessarily -- and always -- tell your pastor: "Great sermon!" Be assured of this, the devil has already told him that as soon as he sits down when he's through preaching. Satan wants to puff up your pastor and flatter him so that he trusts in his eloquence and not in the Spirit to accomplish the work -- even after the proclamation is through. If it was a good sermon, tell him what helped you as your shepherd guided you into the text. Be careful not to flatter him: his eloquence, his finesse, his skills.

3. Be diligent to apply. In all honesty, the best way to encourage your pastor is just to do what God says in His Word. As your pastor preaches and makes the Word clear, walk in obedience. Perhaps it’s one month, or six months, or even one year later. You approach your pastor and carefully, prayerfully, and thoughtfully share with him how a sermon way back when really impacted you and how you specifically confessed your sin, deliberately put on righteousness, and have seen the Spirit enable you to walk in new habits in further conforming you to Christ!

4. Be periodic and intentional about loving your shepherd. Preaching is the hardest work on the planet. It is also the most weighty and serious work. Preachers will stand before Almighty God and give an account for everything that he has said from the pulpit. If that isn’t enough, he'll stand before God and give an account for how he cared for every individual soul that God mercifully entrusted to his shepherding care. Encourage your shepherd. Care for your shepherd. Love him. Pray for him. Support him. Serve him. Minister to him thoughtfully!

5. Be careful what you say and how you say it immediately following the sermon. Yes, your pastor is a merely a man. He's human. Your pastor, as a faithful herald of God, has just poured everything he's got into the faithful, clear, powerful, dependent, urgent, persuasive preaching & crying forth of God's Word. Careful with the immediate questions that begin with,  “Did you realize you mispronounced…” or “I disagree with you on this point….”  This is not to suggest that there's not a time for helpful sermon feedback. But perhaps a phone call or an email the following week with a desire to get together over coffee to open the Word and discuss further might be more appropriate and more loving for his own emotions. Additionally, be careful: after the pastor has preached a sermon, try not to ask: "so, how are you doing?" Or, "What's up?"  Your pastor, if he is a faithful spokesman for God, is exhausted, emotionally, physically, and mentally drained -- literally. He just gave birth to the sermon that he's been working on for the past week. Rather than trivial conversation, thank him for directing your mind to Scripture, your heart to Christ, your will toward joyful obedience.

Download the pdf article.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Expositional Preaching Series Through the Book of Revelation


Last week, we completed the expositional preaching series through the Book of Revelation. The audio & pdf outlines are all available at the media page at Christ Fellowship Bible Church.

THE SERIES:

1. Introduction to the Book of Revelation, part 1  |  here
2. Introduction to the Book of Revelation, part 2 (the Old Testament in Revelation)  |  here
3. The glory of Jesus Christ in the prologue of Revelation (Rev 1:1-8)  |  here
4. A jet tour through the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:19)  |  here
5. The church of Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7)  |  here
6. The church of Smyrna, Prepare to Suffer (Rev 2:8-11)  |  here
7. The church of Pergamum, Don't Compromise (Rev 2:12-17)  |  here
8. The church of Thyatira (Rev 2:18-29)  |  here
9. The church of Sardis (Rev 3:1-6)  |  here
10. The church of Philadelphia (Rev 3:7-13)  |  here
11. The church of Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22)  |  here
12. A scene in heaven (Rev 4)  |  here
13. The preeminence of Jesus Christ (Christ-centered worship in heaven (Rev 5)  |  here
14. The six seal judgments (Rev 6)  |  here
15. 144,000 and the great multitude saved (Rev 7)  |  here
16. The trumpet judgments (Rev 8)  |  here
17. The trumpet judgments, part 2 (Rev 9)  |  here
18. The mighty angel and the little book that John is told to eat (Rev 10)  |  here
19. The 2 witnesses and the seventh trumpet (Rev 11)  |  here
20. The fall of Satan (Rev 12)  |  here
21. Satan cast down to earth (Rev 12:6-17)  |  here
22. The beast of the sea & the beast of the land (Rev 13)  |  here
23. The victory & supremacy of Jesus Christ over the earth (Rev 14)  |  here
24. The biblical doctrine of eternal hell (Rev 14:9-11)  |  here
25. The song of the redeemed in heaven (Rev 15)  |  here
26. The seven bowl judgments (Rev 16)  |  here
27. The great harlot (Rev 17)  |  here
28. Commercial Babylon & her destruction (Rev 18)  |  here
29. Heaven's rejoicing over the destruction of Babylon (Rev 19:1-10)  |  here
30. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in power & glory (Rev 19:11-21)  |  here
31. A biblical survey of the mediatorial kingdom of God  |  here
32. The future kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth for 1,000 years (Rev 20:1-10)  |  here
33. The great white throne judgment (Rev 20:11-15)  |  here
34. Heaven, part 1 - the new heaven and the new earth (Rev 21:1-22:5)  |  here
35. Heaven, part 2 - what will we be like in heaven?  |  here
36. Heaven, part 3 - how will we relate to God in heaven?  |  here
37. Heaven, part 4 - what will we do in heaven? & Conclusion of Revelation (Rev 22:6-21)  |  here

Revelation 22:7  —  "Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."

Monday, September 7, 2015

The Public Reading of Scripture in Corporate Worship -- Some Helpful Tips.

Public Reading of Scripture in Corporate Worship:
Some Helpful Tips
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

God speaks when the Bible speaks. As a man holds the Bible and reads it, the sovereign Master of all creation utters His voice. At Christ Fellowship Bible Church, one element of worship that we include in every corporate worship gathering is the public reading of Holy Scripture. We want to hear from God. We sit under the authority of His Word. And we model for the flock the importance of reading the Word, the reverence when hearing the Word, and the way to pray through the Word. Here are some some helpful tips to bear in mind when engaging in the corporate reading of Scripture.


1. Read REVERENTLY.
The Bible is God’s Book and it is the very word of the Living God. The Bible should, then, be read differently than the morning newspaper. Men must read it with care, with honor, with reverence, and with awe as if we really had God’s very spoken Words that He gave to us, for indeed, that’s precisely what we have. The Bible should be opened before the people and they must all know that the man standing before them has God’s book and that he will read from God’s book and give God’s truth to all God’s people and as a result of this, all people must give full attention and listen well to God’s voice. To also display reverence, one custom that many congregations may incorporate is having everyone stand in honor of the Word of God. This physically and visually reminds everyone that we stand in the presence of majesty. If anything deserves this, hearing the voice of God deserves unrivaled reverence.


2. Read CONFIDENTLY.
When standing and reading the Word, it deserves to be read with confidence, with a loud voice as the reader knows that he is in fact reading God’s truth. One should not read the Word timidly or shyly, or quietly or apologetically. He should read it with power and with confidence and with earnestness since he himself as the reader (the ‘lector’) knows he is imparting God’s truth to God’s people through God’s unchanging Word. This deserves to be read, then, with triumphant confidence.


3. Read ARTICULATELY.
Those who publicly read the Scripture in the corporate gathering should practice reading their portion of Scripture out loud prior to the corporate gathering. He should notice the punctuation marks (commas, periods, exclamation points, question marks) and he should take note of all city names and regions, proper names, etc. that may warrant his practice ahead of time. He does not want to stand before the congregation and fumble his way through place names, people’s names, and regions. And certainly he never wants to make a facial gesture that appears to be joking or making fun of a particular name (whether it’s hard to articulate, long, or just plain uncommon to us today). Practice it ahead of time, read it clearly and articulately. Indeed, the reader must read the text as if he himself is convinced that he’s reading God’s very words.


4. Read ENGAGINGLY.
This takes practice. Read the text to engage people in and through your reading. There are some people who cannot read publicly and engage people because they read monotone and with a lifeless passion. They have no regard for punctuation marks and people are noticeably disengaged. It must never be this way. The reader must hold the Word open for people to see the source from which he’s reading and he should read to engage with the people. He should pause when needed. He should raise his voice when needed. He should ask questions with the tone that is appropriate. He must read and periodically look up to engage with his audience and make sure they are tracking with him in their Bibles or, at least, that their eyes are fixed upon him as he reads from the text of Scripture. Read to engage. Read God’s truth to touch people’s hearts.


5. Read PASSIONATELY.
No man should ever rise and read the Bible heartless and without passion. Never should he read the Bible as if he were reading a novel that he picked up at a local bookstore. He should read with care, precision, passion, love, excitement, and confidence. In his reading, all people present must perceive that he (the reader) believes what he reads because he reads with such passion. He must seek to put people back in time, in that text, to feel what they felt, to know God more.


6. Read EXPECTANTLY.
Reading the Word in corporate worship engages the hearts of God’s people and it produces a powerful effect. Because Scripture is living and active, it always produces the ends for which God sends it forth. In the providence of God and in His gracious timing, he may have the corporate reading of the Bible be a text that a hurting saint needs to hear. It may be a passage that a wayward saint is convicted by. It may be a chapter that the lost are converted as the Spirit impresses upon their heart the holiness of God, the guilt of their sin, and the glorious work of Christ. Always read the Word expecting great things from God. Never is the Bible reading a filler time in the worship service. Never is it a time to tune out, disengage, and exit the sanctuary to use the restroom. It is God’s voice being heard through God’s Word as it is read publicly, expectantly, and anticipating great things from God as He feeds His people through His truth.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)