'For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.'
- Romans 1:16
' For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.'
- 1 Corinthians 1:17-18
'Your world is inhabited by a powerful and living Redeemer who is at work collecting all the spoils of victory on your behalf.'
- Paul Tripp, Broken Down House, p. 105
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
There is great power in the gospel to save. I've seen it at work in others, and I've experienced it at work in myself. Hi salvation is immediate, ongoing, and final. God has promised that the holistic salvation purchased through His Son will accomplish its purposes. God intends to save us both thoroughly and finally. This we must believe and this we must encourage in one another. There is no true Christian life and experience without the saving effects of God's redemptive work. Today I'm mindful of Philippians 1:6, 'And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.'
I'm profoundly grateful for God's promised and thoroughgoing work of salvation in us,
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Orphans No More
'Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.'
- Psalm 68:5
'I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.'
- John 14:18
'And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba Father!"'
- Galatians 4:6
'The New Testament reminds those of us who are newcomers of our adoption so we'll remember that we are here by the Spirit, not by the exertions of our flesh. Because we've been brought into an already-existing family, we ought not to be proud, as though we were here by family entitlement (Romans 11:11-25). We're here by grace.'
- Russell Moore, Adopted for Life, p. 30
'The kingdom of Christ is characterized in Scripture as a kingdom of rescued
children.... When we protect and welcome children, we're announcing something
about Jesus and His kingdom.'
- Russell Moore, Adopted for Life, p. 78
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
What can be greater grief than a child without a father to love them, protect the, and provide a place for him to call home? The biblical storyline is a story of lost children being brought home. At the beginnings of the biblical record a story is told of alienation and wandering and from this point forward the story unfolds of search and rescue for those who are lost. The story of redemption is the story of children being rescued from danger and being brought home and forever protected and loved. God places the orphan in a family. And God also defines undefiled religion as a care for orphans, because this is the heart of God Himself. In an amazing story of love for orphans God's Son had become a castaway. He became an orphan. He became the despised and alienated one so that orphans might be brought into the household and claimed as true sons and daughters. This is a story of an unbelievable exchange. We were once despised and without hope, but now we sit in our Father's house as heirs of Christ Himself and free from all harm. This is the story of a Father's adopting love to weak orphans.
Because of the Father's love for us, may God give us great love for those still waiting for adoption,
Pastor Dan
- Psalm 68:5
'I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.'
- John 14:18
'And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba Father!"'
- Galatians 4:6
'The New Testament reminds those of us who are newcomers of our adoption so we'll remember that we are here by the Spirit, not by the exertions of our flesh. Because we've been brought into an already-existing family, we ought not to be proud, as though we were here by family entitlement (Romans 11:11-25). We're here by grace.'
- Russell Moore, Adopted for Life, p. 30
'The kingdom of Christ is characterized in Scripture as a kingdom of rescued
children.... When we protect and welcome children, we're announcing something
about Jesus and His kingdom.'
- Russell Moore, Adopted for Life, p. 78
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
What can be greater grief than a child without a father to love them, protect the, and provide a place for him to call home? The biblical storyline is a story of lost children being brought home. At the beginnings of the biblical record a story is told of alienation and wandering and from this point forward the story unfolds of search and rescue for those who are lost. The story of redemption is the story of children being rescued from danger and being brought home and forever protected and loved. God places the orphan in a family. And God also defines undefiled religion as a care for orphans, because this is the heart of God Himself. In an amazing story of love for orphans God's Son had become a castaway. He became an orphan. He became the despised and alienated one so that orphans might be brought into the household and claimed as true sons and daughters. This is a story of an unbelievable exchange. We were once despised and without hope, but now we sit in our Father's house as heirs of Christ Himself and free from all harm. This is the story of a Father's adopting love to weak orphans.
Because of the Father's love for us, may God give us great love for those still waiting for adoption,
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
God's Remembering Mercy
'O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.'
-Habakkuk 3:2
'But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."'
- Matthew 1:20-21
'Justification is present deliverance from the eschatological wrath of God, a verdict, already rendered, of acquittal and right standing at the final judgment.'
- Richard Gaffin, Right With God, p. 124
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
- Horatio Spafford, It is Well, v. 3
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
If your trust is in Christ there is good news, both now and to come. A verdict has already been rendered. An acquittal has already come. For those whose trust is in Christ future judgment has already been executed. In our pervasive sinfulness we have earned the just wrath, judgment and condemnation of God. The glory of the gospel is that the guilty have received pardon. Because of Christ's comprehensive atoning work and because of an inestimable price paid, future judgment has been given now. The declaration? Not guilty. The entirety of my sins past, present, and future have been forgiven. In His wrath God has remembered mercy.
Continually amazed by grace,
Pastor Dan
-Habakkuk 3:2
'But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."'
- Matthew 1:20-21
'Justification is present deliverance from the eschatological wrath of God, a verdict, already rendered, of acquittal and right standing at the final judgment.'
- Richard Gaffin, Right With God, p. 124
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
- Horatio Spafford, It is Well, v. 3
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
If your trust is in Christ there is good news, both now and to come. A verdict has already been rendered. An acquittal has already come. For those whose trust is in Christ future judgment has already been executed. In our pervasive sinfulness we have earned the just wrath, judgment and condemnation of God. The glory of the gospel is that the guilty have received pardon. Because of Christ's comprehensive atoning work and because of an inestimable price paid, future judgment has been given now. The declaration? Not guilty. The entirety of my sins past, present, and future have been forgiven. In His wrath God has remembered mercy.
Continually amazed by grace,
Pastor Dan
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Storyteller's Story
'Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.'
-Luke 24:24-27
'Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.'
-Hebrews 1:1-2
'The entire Bible finds its unity in what can be best called holy history - Heilsgeshichte. It is a record and interpretation of the events in which God visits men in history to redeem them as persons and also to redeem them in society - in history. This means finally the redemption of history itself.'
- George Ladd, The Pattern of New Testament Truth, pp. 110-111
'The story is God's story. It describes His work to rescue rebels from their folly, guilt and ruin. And in His rescue operation, God always takes the initiative.'
- Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery, p. 11
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
The Bible is all of a piece. Sixty-six books with a variety of authors from varying backgrounds and written at various times in various places, and all with a unified story-line. This book stretches over thousands of years of history and each author contributes to the integrated whole. The voices and nuance are different, but the refrain is the same and continues to build to a crescendo. The God of history has a story to tell and of His initiative He will tell it. Starting from the beginning, in a garden, paradise was lost. The ruination and sorrow that would follow would be retold in stories of treachery, war, betrayal, misery and bloodshed. Thankfully, throughout the story of fallenness and depravity another story is told. From the beginning a promise was made. The Storyteller would not let sin have the final say. Genesis sets the trajectory with a paradise lost and the promise of One who would come. Revelation ends with paradise restored through the One promised. The plot line winds its way through the multiplicity of stories like a crimson thread. At the end of the day our stories are woven into the whole. It is a story of grace unbound and mercy throughout. It is a story of perilous rescue. It is a story of incomprehensible love at unfathomable cost. The God of history has a story to tell.
Thanking God for inclusion in His Story,
Pastor Dan
-Luke 24:24-27
'Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.'
-Hebrews 1:1-2
'The entire Bible finds its unity in what can be best called holy history - Heilsgeshichte. It is a record and interpretation of the events in which God visits men in history to redeem them as persons and also to redeem them in society - in history. This means finally the redemption of history itself.'
- George Ladd, The Pattern of New Testament Truth, pp. 110-111
'The story is God's story. It describes His work to rescue rebels from their folly, guilt and ruin. And in His rescue operation, God always takes the initiative.'
- Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery, p. 11
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
The Bible is all of a piece. Sixty-six books with a variety of authors from varying backgrounds and written at various times in various places, and all with a unified story-line. This book stretches over thousands of years of history and each author contributes to the integrated whole. The voices and nuance are different, but the refrain is the same and continues to build to a crescendo. The God of history has a story to tell and of His initiative He will tell it. Starting from the beginning, in a garden, paradise was lost. The ruination and sorrow that would follow would be retold in stories of treachery, war, betrayal, misery and bloodshed. Thankfully, throughout the story of fallenness and depravity another story is told. From the beginning a promise was made. The Storyteller would not let sin have the final say. Genesis sets the trajectory with a paradise lost and the promise of One who would come. Revelation ends with paradise restored through the One promised. The plot line winds its way through the multiplicity of stories like a crimson thread. At the end of the day our stories are woven into the whole. It is a story of grace unbound and mercy throughout. It is a story of perilous rescue. It is a story of incomprehensible love at unfathomable cost. The God of history has a story to tell.
Thanking God for inclusion in His Story,
Pastor Dan
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Light and Darkness
'And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.'
-Genesis 1:3
'In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.'
-John 1:4-5
'Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."'
- John 8:12
'For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.'
- 2 Cor. 4:6
Cold blackness, a night that’s felt
Aloneness, like Leviathan’s fate
Hope has died, now faith removed
Opress’d at the spell of ebony weight
A clock ticks, each second pounds
Calm belies the gathering storm
Haunting memories take on flesh
An apparition now a darkened form
The talon’d grip holds fast and firm
Has grace forgot that ancient pledge?
Can one be lost, cast far away?
Is mercy left for foulest dredge?
Lazarus' stench, alive but dead
Eyes drawn tight from Eden's stain
One word uttered, death has stuttered
Can these graveclothes dance again?
Declare your word, a whisper’d voice
A lightning flash from mercy’s arc
A Cross suspended, a world upended
Begone! that devil of the dark
Darkness mine, now His became
Exchanged brightness for deepest night
Imputation and transformation
Death became the brightest light
-Dan Morse, Dark, 2009
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
The Bible portrays the Christian life as a startling contrast to the non-Christian life. New life is radical and pervasive. It leaves no stone unturned. It is as alarming as being born all over again. It is as different as day is from night. It is like a resurrection from the dead. No, it is a resurrection from the dead. It is shocking, alarming, and absolute. The gospel does not come to us to make slight improvements, it comes to make us new. Like Lazarus, without resurrection we always carry with us the odor of death. We are like dead men walking. But when God changes us it is like a transport from death to life, from darkness to light. In this new birth we are made new, a new creation has begun, and old things have passed away.
May God give us a true sense of the radical nature of the new birth and may God let us never settle for anything less.
Pastor Dan
-Genesis 1:3
'In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.'
-John 1:4-5
'Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."'
- John 8:12
'For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.'
- 2 Cor. 4:6
Cold blackness, a night that’s felt
Aloneness, like Leviathan’s fate
Hope has died, now faith removed
Opress’d at the spell of ebony weight
A clock ticks, each second pounds
Calm belies the gathering storm
Haunting memories take on flesh
An apparition now a darkened form
The talon’d grip holds fast and firm
Has grace forgot that ancient pledge?
Can one be lost, cast far away?
Is mercy left for foulest dredge?
Lazarus' stench, alive but dead
Eyes drawn tight from Eden's stain
One word uttered, death has stuttered
Can these graveclothes dance again?
Declare your word, a whisper’d voice
A lightning flash from mercy’s arc
A Cross suspended, a world upended
Begone! that devil of the dark
Darkness mine, now His became
Exchanged brightness for deepest night
Imputation and transformation
Death became the brightest light
-Dan Morse, Dark, 2009
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
The Bible portrays the Christian life as a startling contrast to the non-Christian life. New life is radical and pervasive. It leaves no stone unturned. It is as alarming as being born all over again. It is as different as day is from night. It is like a resurrection from the dead. No, it is a resurrection from the dead. It is shocking, alarming, and absolute. The gospel does not come to us to make slight improvements, it comes to make us new. Like Lazarus, without resurrection we always carry with us the odor of death. We are like dead men walking. But when God changes us it is like a transport from death to life, from darkness to light. In this new birth we are made new, a new creation has begun, and old things have passed away.
May God give us a true sense of the radical nature of the new birth and may God let us never settle for anything less.
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Grieving the Spirit
'The mark of Jesus is love, costly love, and it does not come naturally or easily.'
- Timothy George and John Woodbridge, The Mark of Jesus, p. 92
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
-Matthew 22:36-40
'We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.'-1 John 3:14
'Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.'
- Ephesians 4:29-32
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
It seems easy to forget the personhood of the Holy Spirit. It is much easier to remember personhood of the other members of the Trinity, but there seems to be a mysteriousness to the Holy Spirit that doesn't as easily lend itself to the definition of personality. That is why I think it is very important to pay attention when we read the biblical references to Trinitarian personality, especially the Holy Spirit. The things that grieve the Spirit are the things that grieve God and vice versa. Lately I've been thinking about those things that grieve the Holy Spirit. How can the immutable God be grieved? In itself this is mysterious. Paul's words to the Ephesians are instructive, but why is this statement in the middle of an excursus about how we treat one another? Astoundingly, according to Paul's comments, grieving the Spirit often happens in our interactions with and about others. He lists them...corrupting talk, unedifying conversation, bitterness, wrath, anger, strife, slander, and malice, and even as I type this I'm convicted. The way we talk with and about others matters. It not only reveals our own heart, it grieves the Holy Spirit. He is the One who has sealed us in Christ for redemption. When we grieve Him by our actions and conversations we are not affirming our redemption, instead, we are living like the unredeemed, like those outside of Christ. The evidences of the Spirit's work and pleasure are conversely demonstrated in kindness, being tenderhearted, and showing forgiveness, because this has been God's redeeming grace demonstrated to us. We most resemble our redeemed nature when these characterize our lives, and we grieve the Spirit when they don't. May God give us much grace to live for His glory and pleasure in our relationships with others, and may grieving the Spirit be kept far from us.
Pastor Dan
- Timothy George and John Woodbridge, The Mark of Jesus, p. 92
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
-Matthew 22:36-40
'We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.'-1 John 3:14
'Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.'
- Ephesians 4:29-32
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
It seems easy to forget the personhood of the Holy Spirit. It is much easier to remember personhood of the other members of the Trinity, but there seems to be a mysteriousness to the Holy Spirit that doesn't as easily lend itself to the definition of personality. That is why I think it is very important to pay attention when we read the biblical references to Trinitarian personality, especially the Holy Spirit. The things that grieve the Spirit are the things that grieve God and vice versa. Lately I've been thinking about those things that grieve the Holy Spirit. How can the immutable God be grieved? In itself this is mysterious. Paul's words to the Ephesians are instructive, but why is this statement in the middle of an excursus about how we treat one another? Astoundingly, according to Paul's comments, grieving the Spirit often happens in our interactions with and about others. He lists them...corrupting talk, unedifying conversation, bitterness, wrath, anger, strife, slander, and malice, and even as I type this I'm convicted. The way we talk with and about others matters. It not only reveals our own heart, it grieves the Holy Spirit. He is the One who has sealed us in Christ for redemption. When we grieve Him by our actions and conversations we are not affirming our redemption, instead, we are living like the unredeemed, like those outside of Christ. The evidences of the Spirit's work and pleasure are conversely demonstrated in kindness, being tenderhearted, and showing forgiveness, because this has been God's redeeming grace demonstrated to us. We most resemble our redeemed nature when these characterize our lives, and we grieve the Spirit when they don't. May God give us much grace to live for His glory and pleasure in our relationships with others, and may grieving the Spirit be kept far from us.
Pastor Dan
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Love Matters
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”
- C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
‘The church’s manifestation in time of the glories that are yet to come is not accomplished in the gift of tongues, nor even in prophecy, giving, teaching. It is accomplished in love…. The greatest evidence that heaven has invaded our sphere, that the Spirit has been poured out upon us, that we are citizens of a kingdom not yet consummated, is Christian love.’
- D.A. Carson, Showing the Spirit, p. 76
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
- 1 Cor. 13:1-3
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. -1 John 4:21
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
To love, and love well, is not difficult…it is impossible. We may have an inclination of affections or grand feelings of inducements towards others, but to love well must come from outside of ourselves. We cannot love well without example, or without demonstration toward us. To love well is to apprehend, if even in a small way, love demonstrated to us. Luke tells a story in chapter 7 about a woman who loved well. She was a woman with a tarnished reputation...a woman who was known by her great sin. Luke doesn't fill in all of the blanks, but we can safely say that her notoriety was common knowledge. Her transformation from a great sinner to one who loved well was nothing short of miraculous. Simon missed the point, but she got it. She loved well, because she experienced gospel love first hand. Forgiveness came to her...she was loved...and out of love demonstrated to her she then loved well. Mark this my friends, when gospel love apprehends the sinner's heart a transformation takes place. Loving others well is the inevitable by-product of being loved by demonstrated gospel love.
Because of love shown, desiring to love well,
Pastor Dan
If you are interested in thinking more about these things here is something I found helpful http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2008/2686_The_New_Birth_Produces_Love/
- C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
‘The church’s manifestation in time of the glories that are yet to come is not accomplished in the gift of tongues, nor even in prophecy, giving, teaching. It is accomplished in love…. The greatest evidence that heaven has invaded our sphere, that the Spirit has been poured out upon us, that we are citizens of a kingdom not yet consummated, is Christian love.’
- D.A. Carson, Showing the Spirit, p. 76
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
- 1 Cor. 13:1-3
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. -1 John 4:21
Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,
To love, and love well, is not difficult…it is impossible. We may have an inclination of affections or grand feelings of inducements towards others, but to love well must come from outside of ourselves. We cannot love well without example, or without demonstration toward us. To love well is to apprehend, if even in a small way, love demonstrated to us. Luke tells a story in chapter 7 about a woman who loved well. She was a woman with a tarnished reputation...a woman who was known by her great sin. Luke doesn't fill in all of the blanks, but we can safely say that her notoriety was common knowledge. Her transformation from a great sinner to one who loved well was nothing short of miraculous. Simon missed the point, but she got it. She loved well, because she experienced gospel love first hand. Forgiveness came to her...she was loved...and out of love demonstrated to her she then loved well. Mark this my friends, when gospel love apprehends the sinner's heart a transformation takes place. Loving others well is the inevitable by-product of being loved by demonstrated gospel love.
Because of love shown, desiring to love well,
Pastor Dan
If you are interested in thinking more about these things here is something I found helpful http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2008/2686_The_New_Birth_Produces_Love/
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