Jude: How to Contend for the Faith

This Sunday we will wrap up our sermon series on Jude, “Contending for the Faith.”

In the closing words of his letter (1:17-25), Jude teaches us that contending for the faith is a whole church-project–every man and woman, boy and girl! Contending for the faith is the call of every one of Jesus’ disciples. It requires nothing less than an intentional life of faith, rooted and grounded in God’s promises. Here he gets practical and equips us for a life-time of contending. I encourage you to read Jude one more time before Sunday. And…

• Let’s pray that we will grow in our knowledge and delight in THE Faith, the Gospel.
• Let us pray that we will be alert to any and every perversion of the gospel of God’s forgiving and transforming Grace.
• Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will convict of us of unbelief that is trying to sneak into our hearts and turn our hearts away from God’s promises.
• Let us pray for Jesus-like compassion and mercy for each other as we encourage one another in the life of faith.
• Let us pray that our confidence will flow from an ever-increasing awe of who God is and what he’s done, is doing and will do for us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jude: Bookended by Grace

The Letter of Jude is bookended by God’s Rescuing Grace.

He begins his letter by affirming his church that God has called them  to be his beloved children and that Christ keeps–guards and protects–them from the wicked strategies of the false teachers.

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
    
(Jude 1:1-2 ESV)

He ends with a re-affirmation that God through Christ keeps them from stumbling and being duped by a perverted gospel. God’s grace will fuel their endurance and lead them straight into God’s joyful, glorious presence.

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
(Jude 1:24-25 ESV)

In between these bookends of Grace are bold, scary, politically incorrect and bizarre (to us) words of doom and judgment aimed at the church-intruders. False teachers who pervert the gospel of God’s grace and thereby deny Jesus’ rightful Lordship over us. Let us pray for wisdom and humility as we learn from Jude why we must contend/agonize/fight for the gospel in the face of those who seek to pervert/transform/threaten the gospel.

New England Pastor’s Conference

What a privilege it is to be one of your pastors, WBC! I’m so blessed to serve one the most outstanding churches in the world!

I was really reminded of this this past week when Joel L. and I attended the 2010 New England Center for Expository Preaching Pastor’s Conference. It was amazing to see so many like-minded, gospel-centered pastors from all over New England. God is on the move here in New England! Revival? A  Third Great Awakening? It all starts (and continues!) with a recovery and a centrality of the gospel for all of life and ministry. I love that WBC LOVES JESUS AND HIS GOSPEL!

Taking in 10 sermons in two days was like drinking from a fire-hose! But it was good. My soul was fed. Fed well by the likes of  Mark Dever (one of my favorite pastors), Derek Thomas, Matt Schmucker, Jeramie Rinne and Jim Wells.

The audio is now online, and you can either download or subscribe to the podcast, here. Enjoy!

“I wish I had said it this way”

Re-preach it to your soul!

Did you know that many pastors often re-preach Sunday’s sermon on Monday morning? Usually, no one else is listening. There’s no congregation. Just the pastor and his “I-should-have-said-it-this-way”-thoughts!  On one hand this can be a good thing—an others-centered concern that God’s people should be encouraged and equipped by the magnificent promises of God’s Word. On the other hand, this can be a bad thing—a self-centered concern that God’s people should be impressed with their pastor’s preaching of God’s Word.

A few months ago, God used a prayer from The Valley of Vision that has helped me to not waste my reflection on self-importance. It has encouraged me to use these “I-should-have-said-it-this-way” moments as a means of grace to re-preach the sermon to my soul first, and not to WBC. Now I’m seeing these moments not so much as an opportunity to critique my sermon but as an opportunity to submit to the Holy Spirit as he applies God’s Word to my own life.

Freshly brewed reflections

Since these thoughts have been brewing in my heart all week long, and I think they’re safe to share now. While I wish that I would have preached this on Sunday, I’m so glad that I’ve been preaching this to my soul all week!

Jesus + Nothing =Good News

I am not saved by the belief that I exercise but by the One in whom I wholly and only believe in—Jesus!

You Don’t Get the Gospel If…

“One of the signs that you may not grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you are certain that you do.”

–Timothy Keller in The Prodigal God. Read an excerpt, here.

Satan Doesn’t Mind Family Values and Social Justice as long as…

Russell Moore’s recent talk, “The Devil Votes Christian Values: Why We’re Tempted to be Glorified Satanists Rather than Crucified Followers, is a timely reminder that Gospel-centeredness for all of life and ministry is not a fad or current trend. Looking at the Devil’s 3rd temptation of Jesus Christ, Moore reminds us of what truly is at stake.

Satan ultimately has a power that is not found most importantly in moral decay or in cultural chaos. His power is in the authority to accuse.

The power of accusation.

The power of holding humanity captive through the fear of death and the certainty of judgment.

Satan is not fearful of external conformity to rule. Not even to the external conformity of the rule of Christ–provided there is no cross.

Satan does not mind family values–as long as what you ultimately value is the family.

Satan does not mind social justice–as long as you see justice as most importantly social.

Satan does not tremble at a Christian worldview. He will let you have a Christian worldview as long as your ultimate goal is viewing the world.If Jesus will receive the kingdoms of the world, this crafty serpent thinks, then he can hand them to him apart from the shedding of blood at the cross.

Apart from the overthrow of the demonic powers through the empty tomb.

Apart from a reconciliation between a holy God and a renegade humanity.

If he can just bypass the cross–and get to the kingdom apart from the cross–then he will have everything that he wants.

Pastor: Satan doesn’t mind if you preach on the decrees of God with fervor and passion every single week–provided that you do not ever preach the gospel of the cross.

Homeschooling Mom: Satan does not mind if you teach your children all the books of the Bible and all the Ten Commandments and all of the catechism–provided you do not teach them the gospel of a bloody cross.. . . He will let you get what it is that you want, no matter what it is–sanctity of marriage, environmental protection, orphan care, all of these good and wonderful things–he will allow you to gain those things provided you do not preach and proclaim and live through the power of a cross that cancels his power of condemnation.

He so fears the gospel of a Christ crucified and raised from the dead that he is willing to surrender his entire empire just to appease the threat of it.

HT: Tim Chester via Justin Taylor

Gospel Coalition Conference Webcast

The Gospel Coalition 2009 Conference “Entrusted with the Gospel” looks fantastic! And I’m listening to Tim Keller right now…but I’m in my study! Thanks to Christianity.com…you and I can and everyone else that couldn’t or didn’t make it out to the conference can still listen to a live webcast April 21-23! For free.

Tim Keller, John Piper, Phil Ryken, Mark Driscoll, D.A. Carson and more will be showing us how the gospel is the key to living out the vision of 2 Timothy.

And…if you can’t take the time to listen to the live webcasts this week, don’t worry. The audio and video for all the main sessions will be available the following day.

John Piper’s Coming to New England

No other book outside of the Bible has showed me the infinite worth and incomparable glory of God than John Piper’s Desiring God. No other living author has encouraged and equipped me to to pursue my supreme satisfaction and joy and security and hope in Jesus Christ than John Piper. I cannot recommend him enough to you. But I’ll try.

For starters set Desiring God as your internet homepage. Listen to his sermons. Read his books. Subscribe to their blog.

And even more to the point…consider driving down to Boston this Sunday because John Piper is coming to New England. As part of Park Street Church’s 200th anniversary, pastor Piper will be this month’s guest speaker.

And by the way, if you can’t make still check out Desiring God and be blessed! Here’s a little more info about this weekend.

Piper is the author of more than 30 books, including the Christian best sellers Desiring God, What Jesus Demands From the World and the missions classic, Let the Nations Be Glad. Since his days at Fuller Seminary, Piper has been enthralled with the ministry and writings of Jonathan Edwards and is considered one of today’s premier authorities on his works.

Piper describes himself as one who is dedicated to spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.

To learn more, go to www.desiringgod.org. To read the first three chapters of The Dangerous Duty of Delight, which is related to what he will be speaking about at Park Street, click here. To see a list of John Piper’s books, click here.

Don’t miss John Piper on Sunday, April 19, at all four services:

[8:30 & 11am]
“Jesus Christ and the Rescue of Joy,” Part 1
Psalm 16

[4 & 6pm]
“Jesus Christ and the Rescue of Joy,” Part 2
Hebrews 10:32-36
There will be a Q+A session at the end of the 6pm service.

Good Friday–The Great Eucatastrophe

I had the privilege of preaching at Atmosphere Church’s Good Friday service last week. What an amazing time of gathered worship. Together we gazed into the sovereign irony surrounding the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. The music, the teaching, the prayer, the celebration of the Table caused me to see and savor my bleeding, dying Lord even more.

Together we explored the ironies of the Cross through the lens of Eucatastrophe.

What is Good Friday? Good Friday is an oxymoron, a day of irony, of painful paradoxes. Irony makes us… laugh and think more clearly. Irony makes us see familiar things with fresh eyes.

But Good Friday is not just a day of ordinary irony. It is THE day of the THE Ultimate Irony. It is the most catastrophic day in all of history! But it’s a good catastrophe. It is a Eucatastrophe, the Great Eucatastrophe. The execution of Jesus on that Roman Cross on that Friday afternoon nearly two thousand years ago was the greatest, most complete, the ultimate Eucatastrophe ever and that will ever be.

J.R.R. Tolkien coined this phrase to explain how good things can come from catastrophes, how unpredictable redemption can be won in the midst of unimaginable loss. But Tolkien’s standard was not fiction or fantasy like his Lord of the Rings. He believed all of the happy endings in all of our fairy tales were but faint echoes of the real gospel of the real good news. Speaking of the story of Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection, Tolkien said: “There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true…But this story is supreme; and it is true.”

Tonight we stare into the day of irony, the day of Eucatastrophe, this Good Friday. With God’s help let us stare into the good catastrophe of the cross with fresh eyes.

• First we will see how Good Friday is a Eucatastrophe for Jesus.
• And then we will see how Jesus’ Eucatastrophe is good news for us.

(Click here for the whole sermon: “Good Friday–the Great Eucatastrophe”)

Seize Your Commute

A fantastic new site I just discovered, Faith By Hearing, offers their take on The Most Memorable Audio of 2008, here. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The site is a massive resource filled with tons of God-centered teaching.

Seize your commute. Start downloading.