"Sin is a brat that nobody cares to have laid at his doors" - Matthew Henry

I came across this quote from Matthew Henry in his commentary on the failure of Saul to fully obey God in I Samuel 15 as Saul attempts to deflect the responsibility for his own actions onto others.  It is an astute and memorable way to speak about mankind's propensity to try to avoid blame.  Trying to hide from responsibility or blame others is a tactic that children do not need to be taught, they hope to avoid the negative consequences of their actions, and thus are not above lying to blame others, or pretending ignorance.  That parents can see through this charade is clear to adults, and yet as adults, most people continue to try these same sorts of deceptions when trouble comes from a spouse, family member, boss, or the authorities.  Saul soon learned from Samuel that such half-repentance is worth nothing with God as he looks upon the heart and knows if true repentance lies within.  In that same passage, Matthew Henry also wrote, "it is common for sinners, in excusing their faults, to plead the thoughts and working of their own minds, because those no man can dispute; but they forget that God searches the heart."  Seeking to avoid blame is almost an art form in the business and political spheres, and utilizes well paid consultants and lawyers to shape the narrative and massage the truth.  It may keep you in office following a scandal, or out of jail after an arrest, but it won't matter a bit when standing before Almighty God.  On that day, the only thing that will save us is to have already acknowledged, without reservation, that we are a sinner saved by grace.  The brat is ours, the sooner we own up to it, the sooner God can forgive us and begin to transform us.

What have we learned, one month into our time with Clara?

Tomorrow will be one month since the birth of our little bundle of extra cuteness, Clara Marie.  What have we learned thus far, about parenting, life, and humanity?  Perhaps not all that much, sleep deprivation is not the formula for mental brilliance.  We have learned things that every parent knows: that an infant in entirely dependent upon others for his/her care, that their communication ability consists of three types of crying ("feed me", "change me", and "I'm too cranky to do anything but cry").  It is a wonder to me that anyone could harm a child, especially their own.  What does it say about humanity that we see this sort of depravity far too often (let alone the killing of unborn children in the womb)?  It doesn't say anything good about us, that's for sure.

It seems far fetched at this point, but I know that before we know it our sweet little girl will look back at us and say, "no" with all the fervor of a zealot.  That fallen nature, although nowhere on display as of yet, is there in the background waiting to come to the surface.  Soon enough, our little Clara will show herself to be just like the rest of us, a sinner in need of the grace of God.  That day lies in the future, for now, we'll just enjoy the fact that everyone's first comment about our girl involves how cute she is.

Sermon Video: "make the teaching about God our Savior attractive" - Titus 2:1-10

Do the principles of marketing apply to the Church?  How is your church being perceived by first time visitors?  Does the church website help or hinder those who are looking for a church from choosing to come?  These and many more are important questions that well meaning Christians can disagree about.  I know that some feel that Church, the Gospel, etc. ought to be difficult and hard to approach, but much of that resistance to the idea of making Church accessible to the Lost comes from a rightful resistance to those who would change the content of the Gospel to make it more palatable.  Making sure that the sign at the road is clearly visible, or that the website contains the needed information in a orderly way, is not "selling Jesus", and it is certainly not changing the Gospel.  What it is, is following Paul's example of trying to save as many people as possible through whatever tools we have available.
In Titus 2:1-10, Paul gives Titus advice to pass along to various segments of the Cretan society regarding the morality of the people who make up the Church.  This focus on morality has a three-fold purpose in Paul's mind: (1) It keeps the Word of God from being maligned, (2) it silences critics who would otherwise rightly call God's people hypocrites, and (3) it makes the Gospel "attractive".  The Gospel message itself needs no, nor does it allow for any, tweaking.  The message is the power of God, it is doing just fine, it is the messengers that need to get their act together in order to deliver the message in a way that the Lost can hear and believe.  When God's people act like they really are God's people, it removes an impediment against belief and instead reinforces the message of the Gospel by offering living examples of its power.
So go ahead, make sure the church building is clean and in good repair with proper signage, make sure you have a friendly greeter at the door, do whatever you can to make the all of the Church experience reflect our love for God and commitment to him, and make sure that while you're at it, you work on getting God's people to reflect God's holiness too, when you do, it will certainly make the Gospel message attractive to those who need its saving power.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video: "to the pure, all things are pure" - Titus 1:10-16

In addition to appointing elders, Titus also needs to confront a divisive faction within the Cretan churches that has been spreading a legalistic teaching that has already torn families apart by its controversial nature.  The exact nature of what was being taught is less important for us than Paul's instructions as to how Titus should respond.  Paul told Titus to "silence" those spreading these false doctrines and he points out the damaging effect of them as evidence of the need to do so.  It would seem that this was an effort to ADD to the Gospel by melding it with requirements from the Jewish Law, something that Paul had already opposed successfully in Jerusalem when Titus himself was the test case to prove that circumcision was not a requirement for Gentile believers in Jesus.  This same controversy is not around still today, but there have always been those trying to ADD to or SUBTRACT from the Gospel.  Those trying to add something case doubt on the sufficiency of the work of Christ to save by faith alone and thus advocate some new additional step or requirement.  Those trying to subtract cast doubt on the person of Jesus or the historical reality of his miraculous birth or resurrection, or perhaps on Jesus' claims to exclusivity ("I am the way...").
In the end, Paul sees this opposition as evidence that these people within the church do not belong to God because their minds have yet to be regenerated (transformed).  They continue to see external things as the people, nothing to them is pure.  Those saved by grace, in contrast, recognize that purity and impurity comes from within, that external things are not pure or impure on their own, it is the use to which we put them that matters.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video: "instruction in sound doctrine" - Titus 1:5-9

Following his greeting, Paul recounts the mission that he left with Titus when he departed the island of Crete: the appointing of elders in each of the churches.  In this passage, Paul interchangeably uses two Greek nouns when speaking about the leaders that Titus needs to appoint.  Paul's ambiguity has helped contribute to the arguments and fights that have erupted over how church leadership structure is constructed.  In this passage, however, the qualities needed by those to be appointed would apply to anyone and everyone in church leadership no matter whether he/she be called a pastor, elder, priest, vicar, preacher, bishop, rector, brother, reverend, or something else.  The overall task is the same regardless of the title, shepherding the Church of Jesus Christ.
The qualifications demanded by Paul are strict, he requires that candidates have a stable home life, that they have self-control, especially in interpersonal interactions, and that they exemplify Christ-likeness by living righteously.  It is indeed a daunting list for anyone contemplating entering the ministry, one that reminds us that this too is a task of grace by faith.  It is not supermen who will live up to this high calling, only Spirit-filled men.
Lastly, Paul speaks of the need to encourage with sound doctrine, and refute those who oppose it.  I've often found that too many preachers spend the bulk of their time attempting to refute false teachings outside of their own congregation and too little time encouraging the flock they've been entrusted with.  The basis of that sound doctrine is defined by Paul as the "trustworthy message as it has been taught".  The Gospel, plain and simple, following the example of the Apostles, no more no less.  When we, as ministers, stick to the hard to liberating truth of the Gospel, we will indeed by an encouragement to the people of God.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video