What a gift the Church is to believers.  Find a good Church that preaches the gospel and; serve there, fellowship there, worship there and be encouraged day after day week after week.

• “Every one of us has a scarlet letter in God’s eyes.”
• “God not just invites sinners to come but he invites his enemies to come.”
• “JUST COME!!!”
• “When Grace meets sin, something has to give, and Grace always wins.”
• “Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.”

Recently I was asked to comment briefly on the church:  what it is and its mission.  Here are the 3 brief points I emphasized:

1.  Many are the voices decrying and even defaming the church today.  Some of the loudest are coming from within her doors.  Admittedly, the church is not perfect.  But at the end of day we must always remember how the Bible speaks of the church.  The church is the choice of God.  She is the precious eternal bride and helpmate of Christ Jesus.  She is the purchased, prized, possession of the Lord, who purchased her with His own blood.  Whatever else we have to say about her, let us at the end of the day call her what God calls her – His.

2.  The church has been given the most priceless treasure on earth, namely the gospel.  The church has been given the only answer to humanity’s most pressing question, namely the gospel.  The church has been given the only hope in a desperate and despairing world, namely the gospel.  This is the trust we have been given; the stewardship the master has placed us charge over.  The true church will be found faithfully administering this stewardship when the master returns.

3.  There is no higher calling in the world than is the call to the local church.  It is the primary means through which God is bringing his kingdom to bear upon the earth.  It is the completing, maturing, and perfecting of the church, even its local expression, that Christ is most concerned with.  Therefore, if you desire to do what God is doing, you must find yourself in the church, even its local expression, as Christ is pleased to be in the midst of her.  He loves her, and those who would love Him must love her too.

I remember when I first came into the knowledge of the Doctrines of Grace.  Though it was a gradual learning, it was a steady learning as one doctrine lead me to another and to another.  It started with the doctrine of the Perseverence of the Saints.  Once I came to a settled understanding that God does not elect us to later on reject us, then I wondered why we can’t be lost.  And I discovered that being lost is possible only if you found yourself.  In other words, my salvation was secure because God determined it according to His sovereign election before time.  And thus, this gradual and steady reasoning and studying of the Scriptures lead me to the embracing of all the Five Points of Calvinism.  And yet, even beyond that was the understanding that these doctrines are just theoretical fodder for class room debates, but are practical theological truths that impacted my everyday relationship with God and the world.  I discovered that believing in the Doctrines of Grace is important for my marriage, family, work, and even recreation.  One of the resources that helped me come to this understanding is the book by Terry Johnson, When Grace Comes Home:  How the Doctrines of Grace Change Your Life.

Today the men of East Point Church began a study of this wonderful book.  In it Terry demonstrates biblically and experientially that not only does doctrine matter, but the Doctrines of Grace matter now and for eternity.   Already the brothers are being encouraged and challenged.  And anything that encourages and challenges them, is an encouragement and challenge to me.  If you have not done so before, I commend to you the reading of Johnson’s book.  The Doctrines of Grace are sweet.  They are even sweeter when they are digested and serve as fuel for living faithfully in a faithless world.

Update:  Tim Challies has posted a review of Glory Road.  You can read it here.

We continue to receive encouraging responses from the book Glory Road.  For this we are thankful.  Today I will have the privilege of being interviewed concerning the book on Moody Radio (Primetime America to be exact).  The interview is scheduled to air today at approximately 5:30 CT (6:30 ET).  If you are near a radio or better yet a computer, you may want to tune in.  Hopefully it will not just create interest in the book, but more importantly interest in the historic faith we seek to preach and promote.

This week’s sermon comes from Psalm 131.  David concludes this short song with a passionate plea, “O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”

Hope is the the sustenance of human life.  It’s why we get out of the bed in the morning.  It causes us to take the next step.  Subsequently, there is no more desperate condition than is the condition of hopelessness.  Someone has rightly said, “Man can live 40 days without food; 7 days without water; a few minutes without air; but not a second without hope.”  The terror of hell is that all hope will be lost, even the hope of dying.  Therefore, the most merciful plea we can make to people is the words of the Psalmist, “hope in the Lord.”

I was thinking how difficult it is to describe hopelessness to someone living.  Here’s a try:

It is freefalling and realizing that the parachute failed to open.

It is out in the middle of the world’s largest desert and no one knows you are there.

It is Judgment Day and failing to have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

“O People of the World, hope in the LORD!”

The Men of East Point just completed their study of John Owen on Sin and Temptation.  Our weekly time together with Owen produced some rather thought-provoking and enlightening exchanges.  Indeed, reading Owen challenged us to consider the depth and insidious nature of indwelling sin and to remember its only cure – trusting Christ.  As we concluded our time, the thought that was impressed upon me is that our sanctification is God’s desire.  He wills that we would be sanctified (1Thes. 4:3).  Since it is God’s desire that we are sanctified, when I fight against it (and I do) I am fighting against God (Acts 5:39).  Therefore, it is best that I consider all of life as being used by God to bring about His will in my life, to kill sin in my members, and to conform me more and more into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29; Col. 3:1-5).  I need not consider life’s tough circumstances as just tough, but rather as part of God’s will to sanctify me and to show me more and more of my need to trust Him.  Trust in Christ is the fruit of sanctification.  And yet, it is also the root.  Trusting Christ produces holiness in my life.  Walking in holiness results in me trusting Christ more and more.  Therefore, we need to heed the words of Moses as he spoke to the Children of Israel with Pharaoh’s army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today…The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Ex. 14:13-14).  Just as God willed that the Children of Israel would be delivered from Egypt, so He has will our sanctification.  Let us stand firm and trust in Him.  And see if we don’t see the salvation and sanctification of the Lord.

The Carter Family was able to get away for a few days.  It was a short but needed respite before school got kicked off again. The trip was quick but full of enjoyable family time.  We stopped by the Mayfield Dairy Factory (hmm), visited some family, rested and relaxed at a hotel overlooking the river and the city (great shots on the bridge), and took in the sights of Cincinnati including the Creation Museam (a must see).   God blessed us with a wonderful stay and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  The time was too short, but well spent.  Here are a few of the pictures and videos we took.  Enjoy!

Yesterday was once again a tremendous time of worship and fellowship.  The sermon was on Psalm 130 – The Misery of Sin and the Hope of Forgiveness.  Here are a few thoughts that gripped me:

• “God has every right to judge us; to count our sins against us.”
• “Thank God for his ‘but’, it initiates redemption and forgiveness.”
• Truly understanding what it means to be forgiven by God causes awe and reverence.  It makes one say “Wow!”
• Witnessing the operation of the gifts God has placed in the body is a great encouragement to worship.
• A wonderful verse on hope is Psalm 119:81

Just returned from a short vacation with the family (pictures to follow soon).  One of the highlights of the trip was the day we spent at the Creation Museum.  If you have not been there, you would do well to stop by sometime.  They have some intriguing and enlightening exhibits.  One of the exhibits that caught my attention was the presentation of Adam and Eve and how they brought corruption into the world by partaking of the forbidden fruit.  As I looked at that exhibit I was reminded of the song by Da T.R.U.T.H – Tree to Tree.  As I looked and listened to the exhibit, I could not get the words out of my head, “Please don’t eat from that tree!  No!  No!  No!”

Check out this excerpt and go listen to the complete insightful song.

One of the great joys of attending the Caribbean Baptist Heritage Conference was listening to the brothers from Martinique sing.  They are French-speaking and yet they learn songs in English to sing at the conference.  And with voices like theirs we were all so thankful that they did.  Here they are singing “His Righteousness.” It is a song reminding us that our Lord, the Holy One of God, who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become His righteousness (2Cor. 5:21).

Louer Dieu!