— Read on www.oneplace.com/ministries/living-grace/listen/the-riches-of-his-grace-1269956.html
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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We know prayer is a “must” of worship. Yet, even with something as “safe” as the Lord’s Prayer, we need to think, “Can we do this?” And if so, “Why should we do it?”
Here are three reasons why we should say the Lord’s Prayer in our church services:
Jesus, in instructing his disciples on the basics of prayer, uses the imperative and tells them to “Pray in this manner!” (Matt. 6:9), going on to then give what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. This has been taken to mean—and rightly so—that the Lord’s Prayer should be used as a template for prayer, that we are to pray like this. This is true. Yet, in Luke’s account, Jesus’ words are slightly different: “When you pray, say this…” (11:2). This shows us that the Lord’s Prayer is not just a guiding principle, but rather a model prayer which should be constantly used.
We can be so easily distracted and misguided in our prayers, and what better way to protect against this than by using words Jesus himself composed for our communication with the Father! As John Calvin noted, “We know we are requesting nothing absurd, nothing strange or unseemly—in short, nothing unacceptable to him—since we are asking in his own words” (Institutes, 2.20.34).
The tradition of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in worship goes back long before the Reformation, all the way to the ancient church fathers. The Didache, a guide to Christian life and worship dating back (at least) to the second century, instructed that this prayer be used three times a day! The use of the prayer was a staple in the medieval church, and the Reformers retained the practice. After all, the Reformers were only ridding the church of idolatrous worship—they kept the biblical parts!
The Westminster Assembly’s The Directory for the Publick Worship of God(1645) suggests the corporate use of this prayer in service: “And because the prayer which Christ taught his disciples is not only a pattern of prayer, but itself a most comprehensive prayer, we recommend it also to be used in the prayers of the church.”
If you look at the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms, you will find that they include an exposition of the Lord’s Prayer. Why? Because the theologians who wrote these catechisms recognized that learning this prayer was a great tool in teaching doctrine.
Think about this in terms of our children in worship. Admittedly, there will be elements of the service that they will not fully comprehend or be able to participate in. They may not be able to read along with the scripture text completely, or pay attention during the entire sermon, or sing the words to all the hymns. But they certainly learn well by imitation and repetition. By including certain forms on a weekly basis, our children will pick them up in no time and be able to participate in these areas of worship.
There is great theology about our great God behind the brief stanzas of the Lord’s Prayer. By providing an opportunity for that to seep into our minds, we provide one more way for believers to learn about their heavenly Father’s power, provision, and protection—and thus the need to pray to him often.
This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on March 29, 2018.
What is The Church? (Crucial Questions Series Book 17) by R. C. Sproul
The post 3 Reasons Why Christians Should Recite the Lord’s Prayer at Church appeared first on Beautiful Christian Life.
— Read on beautifulchristianlife.com/blog/3-reasons-why-christians-should-recite-the-lords-prayer-at-church
Billy Graham said it well: “Christ alone can bring lasting peace – peace with God – peace among men and nations – and peace within our hearts.”1 My friends in our world of chaos inner peace is not possible for those who try to find it in people, places, and things. According to Thomas Watson: “If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble.”2
Both Billy Graham and Thomas Watson understood well what Matthew Henry echoed several hundred years ago: “What peace can they have who are not at peace with God?”3 Before a man or woman commit to entering into a personal relationship with Christ, not only are they dead in their sins and trespasses, but they are outright rebels against an infinitely holy God. And as rebels, we can have no hope of finding real peace, since peace is not a product of outward circumstances and situations but being connected to the source of true peace – Jesus Christ.
You see our hearts were created to rest in the safety of our heavenly Father, since He alone holds the keys to finding and experiencing peace in a world that has little peace. Without Christ we will always be restless, and searching for peace in all the wrong places. Elisabeth Elliot stated our condition as follows: “Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.”4
Christ is not only called the prince of peace, but He is the dispenser of peace. Since we are born with a sin nature we all possess a spiritual vacuum in our hearts that only Jesus Christ can fill. Trying to fill our hearts with people, and possessions, in an attempt to find peace, is a futile activity since real peace takes place at the soul level and until our soul is right with God peace is an impossibility. Someone once said it well: “No Jesus, no peace; know Jesus, know peace.”
In closing, listen to the wise words of the late Pastor John MacArthur: “True spiritual peace is completely different from the superficial, ephemeral, fragile human peace. It is the deep, settled confidence that all is well between the soul and God because of His loving, sovereign control of one’s life both in time and eternity. That calm assurance is based on the knowledge that sins are forgiven, blessing is present, good is abundant even in trouble, and heaven is ahead. The peace that God gives His beloved children as their possession and privilege has nothing to do with the circumstances of life.”5
1 Quotemeal for Saturday, December 2, 1944
2 Finding Peace Amidst Your Troubles – Deeper Christian
3 What peace can they have who are not at peace with God? – Grace Quotes
4 Quote by Elisabeth Elliott: “Restlessness and impatience change nothing exce…”
The post In a World of Chaos Is Real Peace Possible? appeared first on Bible Apologetics – A DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
— Read on bibleapologetics.org/in-a-world-of-chaos-is-real-peace-possible/
— Read on www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/listen/a-new-world-order-part-2-1269963.html
— Read on www.oneplace.com/ministries/running-to-win/listen/the-discipline-of-silence-part-2-of-2-1269967.html
Over and over again, the Bible warns against the dangers of pride and emphasizes how much God loves those who are humble. So why is pride such a serious sin? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress identifies the problem with pride and shares four characteristics of genuine humility.
“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” – Psalm 22:27
Scripture reading: Psalm 67:1-7
Gospel comfort is not merely for the individual. It is a comfort to be expressed amongst those who do not know the comfort of belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not meant to be kept to ourselves. It is a comfort to be shared. John Piper put it this way: “Therefore, worship is the goal and the fuel of missions: Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Missions is our way of saying: the joy of knowing Christ is not a private, or tribal, or national or ethnic privilege. It is for all. And that’s why we go. Because we have tasted the joy of worshiping Jesus, and we want all the families of the earth included.”
This world is often a vale of tears. And outside of Christ there is no hope. Outside of Christ is eternal separation from the grace of God. Outside of Christ– eternal regret–the Bible speaks of weeping and gnashing of teeth. All authority has been given to Christ. And Christ calls His Church to go and tell: to make disciples of all nations, to baptize in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and then to teach all that Christ has commanded. And this call comes with the promise that He is always with us. The great commission may never become the great omission.
“It is the whole business of the whole church to preach the whole gospel to the whole world.” – Charles H. Spurgeon
Suggestions for prayer
“I belong to Jesus, and ere long I’ll stand with my precious Saviour there in the glory land (TPH 187:6).
Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, atNTGDevotional.com.
— Read on reformedperspective.ca/january-30-sharing-our-only-comfort/
For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/sermons/66-48
Source: The Final False Prophet, Part 2 (Revelation 13:15–18) John MacArthur
For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/sermons/66-47
Source: The Final False Prophet, Part 1 (Revelation 13:11–14) John MacArthur
For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/sermons/66-46
Source: The Beast Out of the Sea, Part 3 (Revelation 13:5–10) John MacArthur
For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/sermons/66-45
Source: The Beast Out of the Sea, Part 2 (Revelation 13:1–4) John MacArthur
For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/sermons/66-44
Source: The Beast Out of the Sea, Part 1 (Revelation 13:1) John MacArthur
Going to walk through this vintage Alpha & Omega Ministries tract from long ago. This one really threw me for a loop for a while, and then grounded me in the biblical answer to the question: Was Anyone Saved at the Cross:
https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/reformed-apologetics/was-anyone-saved-at-the-cross/
Source: Was Anyone Saved at the Cross? – Pastor Patrick Hines Podcast
Understand the critical distinction between the faithful servant who trades for profit and the fearful one who faces severe judgment in Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Talents. Beyond a lesson on money, this passage serves as a final warning to Israel about the last days and a pressing challenge to every believer holding the Word of God. Will you be found standing firm when the Lord returns, or will fear lead to rejection? Watch to grasp the true weight of biblical accountability and the joy promised to those who know their Master’s heart.
*** Source Article:
https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-talents.html
*** Recommended Book:
The Parables of Jesus
by James Montgomery Boice
https://amzn.to/4laDNNt
*** Related Got Questions Articles:
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Rich Fool?
https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-rich-fool.html
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Prodigal Son?
https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-prodigal-son.html
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Good Samaritan?
https://www.gotquestions.org/parable-Good-Samaritan.html
Source: What is the meaning of the Parable of the Talents? | GotQuestions.org
Is the root cause of guilt psychological or spiritual? Today, R.C. Sproul recounts a time when a psychiatrist attempted to recruit him to address the common struggle of guilt among his clients.
Study Reformed theology with a free resource bundle from Ligonier Ministries: https://grow.ligonier.org/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=get-started
Hear more from Ultimately with R.C. Sproul: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL30acyfm60fWxph9skWjvcCF41XqShypw
Predestination is that act in eternity past in which God ordained or decreed that those he had set his steadfast love on would inherit eternal life. So predestination refers to an action taken by God before the world existed. It points to his eternal, pre-temporal decree of what he would bring to pass in time, in history (see also John 10:14–16, 24–30; Acts 13:44–48; 2 Thess. 2:13).1
The ultimate purpose of predestination was the establishment of God’s spiritual family, his adopted sons and daughters in union with the Son of God, Jesus Christ. God foreknew us and predestined us to become like Jesus—spiritually, morally, and physically. This is what it means “to be conformed” to his “image” (Rom. 8:29).
Other than Romans 8–9, Paul’s comments on predestination in Ephesians 1 are generally regarded as among the more important explanations we have of this doctrine in the New Testament. Let’s look at six truths concerning election that Paul emphasizes. As we make our way through each point, don’t lose sight of how each step is simply the outworking or unfolding of God’s steadfast love for his people.
First, election is pretemporal. As I briefly noted above, it was “before the foundation of the world” that God the Father chose us in Christ (see 2 Tim. 1:9–10; 2 Thess. 2:13; see also 1 Thess. 1:4). This shows that the divine decision concerning human destiny is wholly unaffected by human deeds. To say that God chose us before the existence of all created things is to say that he chose us without regard to any created thing. Election is not something that awaits some event in human history, either the work of Jesus on the cross or the faith of people. It antedates all human history. God’s choice is not dependent on human merit or temporal circumstances. God sovereignly elects us unto eternal life before we exist and without our consent. That isn’t to say that our voluntary consent isn’t important—we must still believe in Jesus. But our belief is itself the historical and experiential fruit or effect of God’s pre-temporal elective decree and steadfast love (see Eph. 2:8).
Second, the objects of divine election are people. Contrary to what some have suggested, the object of God’s elective choice in Ephesians 1:4 is not Christ but “us” (hēmas). In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul declares that “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation” (see also Acts 13:48). Paul uses the plural in Ephesians for two reasons. First, it would be impossible to use the singular. Second, what is a multitude if not a composite of the many individuals who comprise it? Remember that Paul is writing to every person in the church at Ephesus, each of whom is the object of this particular “spiritual blessing” that extends to the entire church. In other words, what is the corporate church if not a collection of individuals to each of whom the blessing comes? The plural here simply indicates that all believers in Ephesus are chosen by God. It is a blessing common to everyone. That includes us as well.
The third truth Paul emphasizes in this passage is the immediate purpose or goal of election. God chose us so that we might be “holy and blameless” in his glorious presence. Some argue that Paul is using these terms to refer to the daily experience of each believer, what we call progressive sanctification (see Titus 2:14; 1 Thess. 4:7; 1 Pet. 1:1–2). No one doubts that the word “holy” is frequently used to describe the character of Christian living, but what about the word “blameless”? It is a word that sounds as if it means “sinless perfection,” but in Philippians 2:15, Paul urges believers “to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (see Rev. 14:5). Therefore, it is surely possible that in Ephesians 1:4 Paul is referring to the holiness and blamelessness of the Christian in the here and now of daily life.
If our personal holiness and blamelessness are the effect or end for which we were chosen, they cannot be the ground or cause of our election. It cannot be the case that God foreknew any degree of holiness or blamelessness in us and on that basis chose us in his Son because we were not holy before he decided to make us holy. It would be absurd for Paul to say, “God chose you to become holy and blameless because he foresaw that you are holy and blameless.”
Note also that in Ephesians 1:5, our election, predestination, and adoption are ascribed to the “good pleasure” of God’s “will.” But if God must elect people because he foresees their faith, what would be the point of saying that they are elect according to his “good pleasure”? On any other theological scheme of divine election, God’s “good pleasure” is irrelevant. What God “wills” or does “not will” and what “pleases” or “displeases” God would have nothing to do with election. If election is conditional on foreseen faith, it becomes a matter of obligation, duty, and requirement, not good pleasure and sovereign choice (see also Matt. 11:26 and Luke 10:21).
This also means that election pleases God. He likes it. God didn’t predestine us unwillingly, grudgingly, or reluctantly. He wanted to do it. He delighted to do it. God has an emotional life. There is immense and unfathomable complexity in his feelings: He delights in some things, and despises others. He loves and hates. He rejoices and judges. Choosing hell-deserving sinners to spend an eternity with him as his beloved children is uniquely joyful, pleasing, exciting, and satisfying to the heart of God! Should it not also then be a joyful, pleasing, exciting and satisfying truth to our hearts? Should we not, then, talk of it often, sing of it often, and often tell of it to others? God’s pleasures must become our pleasures. We must learn to rejoice in what he rejoices in.
The fourth important point to be made concerns the relationship between election and being predestined to adoption. What is the connection, if any, of Ephesians 1:4 with Ephesians 1:5? I believe Paul is saying that God elected us by predestinating us to adoption. Therefore, election, at least in part, consists in being predestined to become a child of God.
This giving of God’s love has thus made us his children.
One of the more enlightening and encouraging biblical passages on adoption as an expression of God’s steadfast love is found in 1 John 3. The concluding verse of 1 John 2 speaks of men and women, like you and me, as having “been born of him” (1 John 2:29), that is, born again or regenerated by the love of the Father through the power of the Spirit. As we move into 1 John 3, we see that the apostle is overwhelmed at the idea that the infinitely righteous God would see fit to beget children who reflect, as a consequence, his character as righteous. As you read this passage, take note of the obvious surprise and joy in John’s words:
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:1–3)
John is flabbergasted at such love, and so should we be.
However, this love is not merely shown to us but is “given” to us. The love of God has actually been imparted to or infused in us. It is an aspect of the divine nature that takes up residence in the believer through regeneration. Christians exhibit the love of God not simply because they are imitating an external model but because such love is now an actual component of their inner nature.
This giving of God’s love has thus made us his children.
We return now to Ephesians 1 and the fifth, and perhaps most important, truth that Paul emphasizes—he says that we were chosen “in Christ.”
It must be admitted that the clause “in Christ” is ambiguous. By itself, it says neither that we are elect because we are in Christ nor that we are elect so that we shall be in Christ. Maybe Paul means that it is “in union with Christ” that we are chosen. I have no problem with that, but the question remains, how did we come to be “in union” with Christ: by free will or by free grace or by some other avenue? Did our union with Christ precede or follow our election? In other words, simply saying that God chose us “in union with Christ” does not tell us how or when that “union” came about or whether it has anything to do with the basis for our being chosen. In all likelihood, “in Christ” simply means “through Christ,” or, to say it negatively, “not apart from Christ.”
In summary, when God in sovereign, steadfast love elected a people from the fallen mass of humanity, he never intended to save them apart from his Son but only by what his Son, the Lord Jesus, would accomplish in his redemptive work. Jesus is therefore the means by which God’s electing purpose is put into effect as well as the goal of that election, inasmuch as it is God’s purpose through election to sum up all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10).
Paul says much the same thing in 2 Timothy 1:9. There we are told that God saved us and “called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” If we are given anything in grace it is by virtue of who Jesus is and what he has done and will do, not by virtue of who we are or what we have done or will do. Therefore, we are elect “in Christ,” not “in ourselves.” It is because of God’s love for his Son and his desire that his Son have a people through whom he might be glorified that God chose us. Therefore, we are chosen “in Christ” in the sense that this Son to whom the Father has given us is he through whom this election to life is made ours in experience. His sinless life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection were the means through which God’s electing purpose was put into effect.
Finally, the sixth truth Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 1:4–5 is that God’s motive in this pre-temporal decision was love. Many have argued that “in love” should be taken with what precedes in verse 4, thus rendering the passage “holy and blameless before him in love.” If so, then “love” is one aspect of the purpose we are chosen for. But if “in love” is taken with what follows in verse 5, it refers to the divine motive for our election. I believe the latter is correct. According to Ephesians 2:4–5 it was “because of his great love with which he loved us” that we were saved. Those who argue for taking “in love” with what precedes insist that it refers to our loving other believers in this life. But if, as noted above, “holy and blameless” refer not to our present experience but final and perfected standing at the coming of Christ, “love” would more likely refer to God’s motive in predestining us. Finally, the emphasis throughout the paragraph is on God’s motive, intent, and initiative, not human response.
The ultimate goal of divine election, that is to say, the preeminent reason why God did not leave all humanity in the just reward of their sin, was so that the glory of his steadfast love and grace might be praised. Election was undertaken to establish a platform on which the glory of God’s saving grace might be seen and magnified and adored and praised. Thus we see again here a consistent theme in Scripture: all that God does, he ultimately does to glorify himself and to exalt the beauty of his steadfast love.
Notes:
This article is adapted from The Steadfast Love of the Lord: Experiencing the Life-Changing Power of God’s Unchanging Affection by Sam Storms.
Sam Storms (PhD, University of Texas at Dallas) is the founder and president of Enjoying God Ministries and serves on the council of the Gospel Coalition. Sam served as visiting associate professor of theology at Wheaton College and is a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is the author or editor of 37 books and blogs regularly at SamStorms.org. Sam and his wife, Ann, are the parents of two daughters and grandparents of four.
The terms election and predestination are often used interchangeably, both referring to God’s gracious decree whereby he chooses some for eternal life.
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
The doctrine of predestination, including both election and reprobation, has long been controversial. The Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign over all things. He saves sinners by his grace alone.
It is pitiful how we can take the Bible teaching about predestination that should result in humility, praise, and comfort and instead talk about it with sinful pride, divisiveness, and anxiety.
“I am who I am.” Yahweh. This is the name God gives to Moses. It is the covenant name of the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God of Israel.
Source: 6 Ways Predestination Is an Outworking of God’s Love
Prominent Christian apologist William Lane Craig’s name is most often associated with his ministry organization Reasonable Faith, the name of his most famous book and also weekly podcast.
While cosplaying as a conservative Christian voice and leader, he is more philosopher than theologian, and his recent spate of biblical pronouncements shows.
Apologist William Lane Craig Says ‘Adam’ Was Genetically Mutated Caveman That Lived 750,000 Years Ago
Apologist William Lane Craig Denies Original Sin: ‘infants and the mentally retarded are not born sinful’
William Lane Craig Says Abortion Doesn’t Harm Babies + Confers ‘A Great Good’ Upon Them
Famous Christian Apologist: Refusing to Consider Neanderthals the same as Homo Sapiens is ‘Dehumanizing’ and ‘Racist’
In a recent Instagram post, Craig first denies the doctrine of original sin, then claims that the belief that Jesus was born a virgin is not an essential Christian belief, both as it relates to his sinlessness and his deity.
I suppose it depends on what you mean by “essential.” In one sense, it’s not essential to the deity of Jesus Christ. We shouldn’t think that it was in virtue of his being virginally conceived that Jesus was divine.
Even if he had had a human father, he still would have had a divine nature which he possessed from eternity past before he assumed a human nature as well.
Nor is the virgin birth essential to the sinlessness of Jesus. If you think that original sin is passed on by human procreation, well then he would inherit original sin from Mary alone without Joseph, so that Roman Catholics have been compelled to affirm that Mary herself was immaculately conceived without original sin, a doctrine which has no biblical basis at all.
He continues:
So I would say that the virgin birth is ‘essential’ only in the sense that the Bible affirms it. Both Matthew and Luke teach it. It’s clearly meant to be taken as the way in which Jesus was conceived, and it may be that Jesus is to be understood as the Son of God in virtue of his virginal conception.
Luke says that the angel tells Mary, because the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you, that which is born of you will be called the Son of God.
So the virginal conception is inherent to the biblical view of Jesus, but it’s not essential to his deity or sinlessness in the way that some may have thought.
Craig previously adressed the issue of Jesus’ virgin birth in an interview with the New York Times, saying that he was “reasonably confident” that Jesus was born a virgin.
The post Apologist William Lane Craig Says Belief in Jesus’ Virgin Birth is Not ‘Essential’ appeared first on Protestia.
Source: Apologist William Lane Craig Says Belief in Jesus’ Virgin Birth is Not ‘Essential’
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