Calvin Synod Herald, 2008 (109. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
2008-07-01 / 7-8. szám
CALV IN SYNOD HERALD 9 you learn to ENJOY GOD and have joy in glorifying God! Most of us care too little about our souls. We don’t want to be challenged. We’d rather go to hell comfortably than be told that the faith in Jesus Christ which saves, is the faith that trusts God enough to continually confront and turn away from our sin. We need God’s faithful elders to encourage us, challenge us, and pray for us so we won’t be content with the godliness we have but so that instead we will move on to greater faith, hope and love. We say we want this church to not only survive, but thrive... We say we have the most beautiful sanctuary in the county but it is not filled to capacity... We have a duty to see the Good News of Jesus transform this county but that isn’t happening. God says when we turn from our idolatry to Him He WILL bless us to the 1000th generation. Could it be that we have not been serious enough about turning from our idolatry? Could it be that we have lost our vision for this church and this community and instead of wanting to fight the devil for the souls of this community we just want to take it easy? 2008 is our 70th anniversary year. It is time for a new day at First Presbyterian Church. It must begin with elders taking up their sworn duty to Christ and being the spiritual leaders of this congregation. It must begin with the elders and the people together forsaking the idolatry of laziness, the idolatry of complacency, and the idolatry of self-centeredness and pursuing the Lordship of Jesus Christ afresh. Your elders need your support. Each member of this congregation will have an elder assigned to them to watch over their soul and encourage them to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Each member will be asked to cooperate with, pray for, and support your Local Elder in their work. We are on the verge of extinction as a church. Our only hope for tomorrow is if God is faithful to His Word - and He is - and He will bless us to the 1000th generation by providing another generation to come to this place and serve the Lord with us. That requires us to what? Turn from our idolatry. Turn to the Lord again. And trust Him to fulfill His promises. The first step is to restore the role of the elder in caring for God’s sheep here. Today we begin our first Elder Shepherding Training. Pray for, work with, and seek the help of your elders in this church. Our renewed commitment to Christ and the renewed ministry of our elders is essential if we are to see God bless us in the future. The elders are giving their time freely to serve you and watch over your souls so that they may be blessed through all eternity. Work with them. Accept their attempts to encourage and serve you. Help them with their work however you can. In short, remember as we enter into a new era here to “Support Your Local Elder”. Rev. Chuck Huckaby First Presbyterian Church Lawrenceburg, Tennessee Jesus’ Cross Saves Us - Not From Earthly Death, But From Eternal Damnation Scripture reading: John 11:1-45. Text: “On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.’ The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.” Matthew 14:6-12. Read the whole story from the 1st verse. The Background of the Deaths of Lazarus and That of John the Baptist We do not know much about Lazarus; he was the brother of Mary and Martha, and the Lord loved all the three of them, John 11:5. When Lazarus was sick, the sisters had notified Jesus, 3rd verse, but when Jesus had arrived it was too late, Lazarus had already been buried. Our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead; however, before it happened, an interesting dialogue had taken place between Jesus and Martha, see verses 20-27. With one single sentence: “Lazarus, come out!” 43rd verse, Christ had given Lazarus back to his sisters alive. (Please read the whole episode John 11:1-45.) We know more about John the Baptist. He was related to the Lord, Luke 1:36. He had baptized Jesus, Matthew 3:13-17; had preached about the arrival of the Christ (in Hebrew Messiah) Matthew 3:1-12; and dared to criticize King Herod: “Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying to him: ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.”’ Matthew 14:3-4. For this he had paid with his life. Please see our text. Jesus knew that John the Baptist was arrested because he had sent messengers to Jesus from the jail: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Matthew 11:3. Please read the whole story Matthew 11:2-6. How Can the Faithful, Who Is a Thinker Too, Compare Lazarus’ Death to That of John? We find almost all the most important elements of our faith in Jesus, in his divine power, and in his saving mission as He had raised Lazarus from the dead: Continued on page 10 1
