Here are some good posts on church membership that I wish every Christian would read:
What Is Church Membership? – Jonathan Leeman (9Marks)
Is Church Membership Really Required – Ricky Jones (TGC)
6 Reasons to Be a Faithful Member of a Local Church – Paul Tautges
Twelve Reasons Why Membership Matters – Jonathan Leeman (9Marks)
In the Second Commandment (Exodus 20:4-6), God commands us not to make for ourselves any graven or carved images of God. Why? Here are nine reasons:
First, God is the Creator, and so transcends his creation. Any visual image we could make is created, and could never fully represent the Creator God.
Second, God is Spirit, and so he doesn’t have a physical body. Any visual image we could make would be physical, and so misrepresent God.
Third, God is jealous (v5). God doesn’t want us creating false images of him, any more than a wife wants her husband to create false images of her. We must love God as he is.
Fourth, God is loving (v6). God loves us and we ought to respond by loving Him, not a false image of Him.
Fifth, God is omnipresent. Any image we could make would localize him in a specific place.
Sixth, God is glorious. No image could do justice to his glory, but would rather obscure his glory.
Seventh, God is sovereign. An image can be manipulated, but God cannot.
Eighth, God created us in his image. When we create an image of God, we make him in our image according to our biases. This flips the order of creation upside down.
Ninth, God is holy. When we create false images of God, we will follow those false images, which will inevitably lead us to sin. Or put another way: what we believe about God influences our behavior, and wrong views of God will influence our behavior in the wrong direction.
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
A Great Reward – Tim Challies
I was recently transfixed by Psalm 19 and David’s sheer joy at this great gift of God….
What Is Discernment? – Sinclair Ferguson (Ligonier)
So discernment is learning to think God’s thoughts after Him, practically and spiritually; it means having a sense of how things look in God’s eyes….
Are You Out of (Evangelism) Shape – Erik Raymond
Consider this: how would your day-to-day tasks look different if you did them with evangelistic intentionality?
Seduction and the Cost of Saying “No” – Mark Howard (TGC)
Our youth are engaged in a spiritual battle for their affections and their allegiance. Let’s not minimize the danger of our culture’s seduction, nor the cost that comes with our youth’s resisting the American way in the name of Jesus.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!
The problem with images is that they tend to do whatever we want them to, whether they should be doing it or not. And so, images are very different from the God we worship. God can’t be manipulated by human beings as if he were a puppet on a string.
– Anthony Tomasino in Written upon the Heart
– Thomas Watson
In Isaiah 31, Judah was trusting in Egypt because they were very strong. They had human strength. Still today we are tempted to put our hope in human strength.
We put our hope in political power. We think that if we just get the right people into office, we can fix our country. But what happens when they fail to accomplish what they promised? Human strength can fail. Are we trusting in political power or the one true God?
We put our hope in military power. We think that if we are strong enough, we will be safe. But what happens when terrorists fly planes into buildings? What happens when the strongest military in the world can’t stop fanatical rebel groups? Human strength can fail. Are we trusting in military power or the one true God?
We put our hope in our own effort to build the church. We think that if we can just work hard enough, make the right plans, have the right methods, adopt the latest strategy or program, that our church will really take off. But God is the one who draws people to Himself. God is the one who changes lives. God is the one who brings growth in the Christian life. Are we trusting in our own efforts or in the one true God?
We put our hope in our own strength, our own ability. But human strength will fail. We are often weak. And yet God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (II Corinthians 12:9). Are we trusting in our own strength or in the one true God?
It is not that political power or military might or our effort or our ability are wrong, but they are the wrong place to put our hope. God calls us to put our hope in Him.
Are you trusting in human strength or in the one true God?
Imagination is a wonderful gift, but when we use it to conjure up our own image of God it leads us astray. It is quite common to hear people say, “I like to think of God as…” and then add whatever picture they have in mind. The problem is that our view of God is to be defined by His revelation of Himself in the Bible, and when we conceive of Him apart from that, it will be misleading at best. Anything we imagine will be inevitably less than God, and when that which is less than God is used to portray God, we are led quickly to blasphemy and idolatry.
– Alistair Begg in Pathway to Freedom
O God our hope – our Holy Lord
Of wisdom, power, and love
Whose judgment’s like a mighty sword
The Lord of Hosts above
O God our hope for each new day
Lord may we turn to you
For all of life, Lord let us pray
Our gaze set firm on you
– From a sermon on Isaiah 31
(To the tune of “O God Our Help In Ages Past”)
Here are some good posts on ministry:
Pastor’s Forum: Evangelism and Discipleship in the Local Church – 9 Marks
How to Lead a Good Prayer Meeting – Kevin DeYoung
Comforting a Grieving Family – Thom Rainer
In Isaiah 31, Judah was trusting in Egypt because they had a large army. They had the numbers to maybe defeat the Assyrians. Still today we are tempted to put our hope in numbers.
We put our hope in polls. We want to be in the majority. But what happens when we find that we are in the minority? Christians quickly are becoming the minority when it comes to Biblical morality. Does that bother us? Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?
We put our hope in big numbers. Big churches are impressive. Small churches are, well, just small. And yet throughout the Bible and church history, God often does great things with just a few, or even one. Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?
We put our hope in the numbers in our bank account. If the number is big, there is a sense of security. If the number is small, there is a sense of anxiety. And yet God can take care of us regardless of what is in our bank accounts. Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?
We put our hope in the number of friends we have – both real and pretend (think Facebook). We can become obsessed with how popular we are. How many people are liking my post? And yet our significance has nothing to do with our popularity. Are we trusting in numbers or in the one true God?
It is not that being in the majority or having a big church or having lots of money or friends is a bad thing. There is nothing wrong with numbers; it is just the wrong place to put our hope. God calls us to find our hope in Him.
Are you trusting in numbers or in the one true God?
Brian J. Mikul 