Tim Chaillies is the “Christian uber-blogger” according to some and has a great April book giveaway going on sponsored by Reformation Heritage Books (book publishing arm of Ligonier Ministries). You can register here for the giveaway.

Shameless self-promotion: Do me a favor and use my reference ID when you go: 60681

I received a great little book in the mail today that we may have to begin using with inquirers and new members of HLPC. The book was written by Dale Ralph Davis and is entitled The House that Jesus Built (published by Christian Focus). It speaks plainly and succinctly about what it means to be a part of a church, particularly one that is Reformed and Presbyterian. Read this excerpt that is especially good that I believe describes HLPC:

What can you expect to find in a church? You will probably find…

1. Persons who will disappoint you and sometimes infuriate you. No rosy or even peachy perfection here. It’s like being on a quest for the perfect cup of coffee. Not many are on that quest, but some are looking for the perfect church and always coming up disappointed. You must remember that the church is a hospital for sinners. The church is precisely where sinners need to be, but it can make life pretty trying at times.

2. People who still struggle against sin and are enduring severe trials. Any number of our people have been through a lot of heavy weather- and the winds are still blowing. That means we may not always be smiling, upbeat people with that “victorious” air about us (though we trust there is deep gospel joy in us).

3. A church that seeks to worship God carefully and thoughtfully. We try to place a high priority on public worship. Hence we try to plan it carefully. We don’t want people simply attending church- we want them adoring God; we don’t want them merely coming to a service- we want them entering God’s presence. Sometimes worship may seem a bit formal to some, but formal is not the same as dead. If it seems dead, it’s probably because you’re not worshiping. In any case, we seek to lead people into thinking, joyful, solemn worship that is worthy of God.

4. A diligent effort to provide preaching and teaching that both informs the mind and stirs the feelings. This is to a large degree the task of the teaching elder. Note that the pastor’s proper title is “teaching elder,” for teaching is his primary task. A good bit of pastoring is to be done by all believers as they care for one another.

That is what you can expect- perhaps. Sometimes we’ll fail to care for each other as we ought. Sometimes we’ll ignore people, so that they feel they don’t matter. You think that this is not a great sales pitch. You’re right. It’s even worse. We are not even salesmen at all. We are an imperfect body of believers convinced that Jesus loves us in spite of ourselves and seeking to become more faithful to Him by becoming more faithful to His people. And you are welcome to become a part of us.

That great sigh of relief you hear is me. I just finished the course work for the last Doctor of Ministry class I took at RTS Orlando. The class was entitled “Spiritual Formation for Leaders” and was held in January. Dr. Steve Childers, who taught the class, did a great job. The coursework is due Wednesday. I’ll be overnighting stuff tomorrow- yeah, I procrastinated a bit. I had to read 2,000 pages of selected reading and write a 20 page paper. The way this works is that I have to take 8 courses total and write a really big paper (150+ pages) at the end. Three classes down, five to go.

Just had to let someone know. A burden is lifted!

Bible Gateway is a terrific web site for Scripture study. They have MANY translations and search options along with the ability to compare translations side by side. This is a great tool for Bible Study that I use often in sermon prep. Just wanted to share the wealth!

(HT: Tim Bayly)

Run John run, the law demands
But gives me neither feet nor hands.
A better song the Gospel sings,
It bids me fly, and gives me wings.

–John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim’s Progress)

We’re farmers now. Well, sort of. Well, no, not really. We’re trying “square foot gardening” in the back yard. Connie brought home four 2 x 6’s from Lowe’s and I used deck screws to place them in the necessary square frame. I told someone that for me that felt like building a house- let’s just say I’m not known for my handyman skills. We filled the frame with some of the finest dirt Lowe’s would sell us including Black Cow “mature manure”. In our raised 4 x 4 bed we’ve planted tomatoes, squash, okra, mint, onions, cantelope and watermelon. Yes, watermelon. Stay tuned whether this will work or not.

All this building and planting took place on Monday. Every day since I go out looking for growth. Yesterday Connie served me some watermelon at lunch. “Is this one of ours?” I asked.

You get the picture- I’m impatient. As the ad on TV goes- I want it now.

I’m sure there’s a lesson here or future sermon illustration but I’m too impatient to figure it out. I gotta go see what ripened overnight.

The quote below is from David Wells’ recently published book The Courage to be Protestant. This fits with the discussion we had this morning at the men’s Thursday morning group looking at Hebrews 12:28, Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, (ESV).

Don’t worry- I have no immediate plans for doing an Elvis impersonation.

“[T]his transformation of Christianity into entertainment, is rapidly becoming the norm today, not the exception. Pastors are straining to outdo each other in becoming as chic and slick as any show in Las Vegas” (p. 24).

(HT: Keith Mathison)

Having a statement of faith like we do at Houston Lake Presbyterian can be unnerving to some people. Some may think we hold it above the Bible. We don’t, we merely believe that all churches have a theology be it a good or bad one. Our theological views are written down, other churches have theological views too but are not in written form. After all, every church believes something about who God is, what is the nature of Bible, what it means to be a Christian, and how and who should be baptized.

R.C. Sproul writes on the need and benefit of having a doctrinal statement such as the Westminster Confession of Faith, the statement of faith of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) of which Houston Lake Presbyterian is a member. I think it’s helpful to appreciate why we’re “confessional” and what strengths that brings. Sproul says, “Without such confessions, theological anarchy reigns in the church and in the world.”

You can read the entire article here.

From J.I. Packer’s Rediscovering Holiness (p.160):

“…there is far more to spiritual growth than repentance, just as there is far more to physical growth than regular bowel movements.”

You think about that.