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On July 8, 2019 By In Counseling/Piety

Reflecting On Our Identity

Abraham Kuyper spoke of our calling as Christians quite often. Kuyper offered a comprehensive approach to the Christian walk that left no room for neutrality. For the Dutch theologian, one always stands before God and every decision—whether to oppose or obey—is made in His presence.

“Whatever man may stand, whatever he may do, to whatever he may apply his hand – in agriculture, in commerce, and in industry, or his mind, in the world of art, and science – he is, in whatsoever it may be, constantly standing before the face of God.” 

We are Coram Deo, and although we know what is true and although we know how the story ought to go, we deceive ourselves into thinking that there is better timing than God’s timing or a better way than God’s way. The Book of Proverbs bombard us with similar themes: trust in the Lord, lean not on your own understanding, don’t follow the path of the wicked. Solomon knew our tendency to quarrel with the obvious. We may be tempted to ask, Who wouldn’t do these things? Who wouldn’t follow the ways of a God who created the heavens and the earth? Who wouldn’t wait on the Lord who created time itself?

Doubting the Obvious

But we are prone to self-deception. We often doubt what we know to be true. Therefore, we need to constantly reflect on our identity. Our identity refers to who we are and who we believe ourselves to be. A departure from our identity is often a departure from the Sabbath rest of God’s ways. But our identity is far more complex, which is why we so easily forsake it. Our identity is not formed overnight, but by a variety of factors: parents, self-reflection, abilities, education, associations, close relationships, etc. We don’t form ideas about who we are on our own; it’s formed by everything we do and with whom we engage. All that we experience, know, feel shape us. The question is whether those voices echo Solomon, or whether they are a mix of voices, or whether they are altogether contradictory to the voice of Yahweh.

The Christian needs to get back to the clear foundation that God’s opinion needs to have the final say. God’s imperatives need to overwhelm our doubts and fears and alternative voices. Wherever we may stand, whatever the intellectual or physical endeavor, we need to open our minds to the profound reality that God’s opinion of us is louder and clearer than our opinion of ourselves.

It is God who defines our reality and identity. We only know ourselves in relation to him. Therefore, when we are confused, in a fog; when we don’t have any idea what our next step is, when in humility we present our uncertainties to God, the biblical answer is a glorious one. After all, it’s in acknowledging our doubts that God shows us his ways. It is a good thing—at times—when we feel lost because if we felt overly confident about how to proceed, it is doubtful we would pause to wonder about our identity. It is doubtful we depend on Another.

Identity Tour

After the resurrection, around a fire, Jesus takes Peter in an identity tour. In a previous fire, Peter decided that his path would differ from his Masters’. “I don’t know this man,” he uttered. But now, Jesus takes Peter back to his true identity. Peter is only true in his calling when he allows Jesus to define who he is.

It’s precisely when you don’t know what’s next that God reminds you of your finiteness and directs you to himself who knows all things. Our identity in Christ puts us back in the ways of righteousness.

Our culture has made an idol of knowing all the right answers. We have made an idol of our certainty so that when the first thing goes wrong, we collapse, we crawl into our comfort zone. And that’s why often we hurt so much. We hurt because it is burdensome to define ourselves. It is burdensome to make our paths straight; to sing our own melodies instead of allowing God to sing over us.

So, the lesson of this short essay is for us to remind one another and our children who they are: to text them who they are, to teach them who they are, and to point them to Who identifies who they are. Knowing our identity does not solve all our problems, but at the very least it diminishes our tendency to lean on our own understanding and it puts us back where we belong: in the presence of God.

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On June 17, 2019 By In Family and Children, Worship

Summer Vacation and the Necessity of Worship

As summer heats upon us, many of us will be vacationing all over the country. As a pastor, I have noticed that church members generally don’t think much about the role the summer season has on us as Christians. I am particularly troubled by Christians who treat vacation as not only a break from work but also a break from Church. To some, if vacation happens to involve a Sunday then so be it. It becomes the ideal day to travel to your favorite summer destination. After all, you are not missing work; you are only missing Church.

Hebrews does not treat this subject lightly. a  The author forbids the non-assembling of ourselves. He treats it as a kind of schism; division. Hebrews calls us not to forsake the gathering. The angels and archangels engage in heavenly worship day and night, and we are invited to join in this duty of worship each time we are gathered together on the Lord’s Day. After all, God has made us one.

Vacation is no substitute for worship. Missing the Lord’s Day gathering on vacation for any trivial reason is to mock the tearing of the veil, which gave us access to the heavenly throne of grace. It belittles the work of Christ who conquered our divisions and united us to Himself.

With that in view, here are a few things I recommend for those going on vacation this summer:

First, avoid falling into the trap that a few good Christians gathered at a camp or a resort constitute the Church on Sunday. You may enjoy Christian fellowship, be challenged by an exhortation, but this does not constitute heavenly worship. It may be simply a Bible study, but worship is not a Bible study; it is the very entrance of God’s people into the heavenly places through the work of the Spirit.

Second, before going on vacation google churches near the area. If you are not able to find a church that resembles yours, look to explore a bit outside your tradition. Learn to love the universal church. Find an evangelical congregation that loves the Bible.

Third, avoid making Sunday morning plans. Let your family–especially those who are not Christians traveling with you–know that Sunday worship is non-negotiable. If they are nominal Christians or unbelievers, let them know beforehand that their Sunday morning plans will not include your family. b There is no need to theologize about these issues with other family members or feel you have to offer a treatise on the matter (since it may lead to unnecessary arguing). Let them know if they insist, that this is a commitment you made as a family long ago.

Finally, when visiting other churches, teach your children (and yourself) to avoid criticizing the Church’s practices that differ from your own. Use this time to explain to the little ones about the beauty of the universal church.

The Lord’s Day is a day of rest. It is the feast God has prepared for you. Under normal circumstances,c there is no other place for you to be.

  1. Calvin reviews the nature of coming together that naturally ensued when the walls of partition were broken down: “It is an evil which prevails everywhere among mankind, that every one sets himself above others, and especially that those who seem in anything to excel cannot well endure their inferiors to be on an equality with themselves. And then there is so much morosity almost in all, that individuals would gladly make churches for themselves if they could; for they find it so difficult to accommodate themselves to the ways and habits of others.  (back)
  2. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord  (back)
  3. Of course, there are too many obvious reasons to not be in church like sickness, childbirth, and emergencies of every kind, though I argue that these are rarely the reason people do not come to church during vacation  (back)

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On June 3, 2019 By In Counseling/Piety, Podcast

Episode 60: Conversation with Dru Johnson on Human Rituals

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:40 — 30.0MB)

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What is a ritual? “The word gets a bad rap,” says Dr. Johnson. So, if you are looking for a summary of the role of rituals inside and outside the Church, look no further. Dru’s book is packed with substantive arguments and down to earth applications sure to get folks thinking about their daily rituals and how these rituals form us into the humans that we are.

Pastor Brito and Dr. Johnson also talk about the power of rituals in replacing bad habits and how the act of repetition in communion with others actually change us.

Resources:

Purchase Dru’s book

Visit Dru’s Website

Intro and Outro music by George Reed

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On May 31, 2019 By In Podcast

Episode 59, Kuyperian Life: Interview with Rev. Mickey Schneider

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:16 — 55.0MB)

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Rev. Mickey Schneider stands as a unique figure in Southern Presbyterian history. He assumed various leadership positions as a PCUSA minister and after the PCA was formed in 1973. Mickey’s 50 years of pastoral ministry provides a plethora of stories; not all of his stories are flowery; some, however, are sublime. The listener will get a glimpse into the life of a giant who has lived his life to the glory of God through trials– some of which he will admit was brought on by his own mistakes–and triumphs–which he places at the feet of Jesus.

Mickey’s transparency about the good, the bad and the ugly ought to provide an outline of half a century of faithful service to the Lord. May we learn and may we grow as a result of his life.

You can read Pastor Brito’s remarks at Mickey’s retirement.

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On May 30, 2019 By In Worship

What Does the Ascension of Jesus Mean for Us?

The Church celebrates the Ascension of our Lord today. Since most churches are not able to have Thursday services, traditionally many of them celebrate Ascension on Sunday. The Ascension of Jesus is barely mentioned in the evangelical vocabulary. We make room for his birth, death, and resurrection, but we tend to put a period where God puts a comma.

If the resurrection was the beginning of Jesus’ enthronement, then the ascension is the establishment of his enthronement. The Ascension activates Christ’s victory in history. The Great Commission is only relevant because of the Ascension. Without the Ascension, the call to baptize and disciple the nations would be meaningless. It is on the basis of Jesus’ enthronement at the right hand of the Father that we image-bearers can de-throne rulers through the power and authority of our Great Ruler, Jesus Christ.

The Ascension then is a joyful event, because it is the genesis of the Church’s triumph over the world. Further, it defines us as a people of glory and power, not of weakness and shame. As Jesus is ascended, we too enter into his ascension glory (Col. 3:1) This glory exhorts us to embrace full joy. As Alexander Schmemann once wrote:

“The Church was victorious over the world through joy…and she will lose the world when she loses its joy… Of all accusations against Christians, the most terrible one was uttered by Nietzsche when he said that Christians had no joy.”

A joy-less Christian faith is a faith that has not ascended. Where Christ is we are.

And we know that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. He is ruling and reigning from his heavenly throne. The Father has given him the kingdom (Psalm 2), and now he is preserving, progressing, and perfecting his kingdom. He is bringing all things under subjection (I Cor. 15:24-26).

We know that when he was raised from the dead, Jesus was raised bodily. But Gnostic thinking would have us assume that since Jesus is in heaven he no longer needs a physical body. But the same Father who raised Jesus physically, also has his Son sitting beside him in a physical body.  As one author observed:

Jesus has gone before us in a way we may follow through the Holy Spirit whom he has sent, because the way is in his flesh, in his humanity. a

Our Lord is in his incarnation body at the right hand of the Father. This has all sorts of implications for us in worship. We are worshipping a God/Man; one who descended in human flesh and who ascended in human flesh. He is not a disembodied spirit. He is truly God and truly man.

As we consider and celebrate the Ascension of our blessed Lord, remember that you are worshiping the One who understands your needs because he has a body just like you and he rejoices with you because he has a body just like you.skypebreaker.comстатистика ключевых слов гугл

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  1. Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World. Paraphrased  (back)

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On May 21, 2019 By In Podcast

Episode 58, Conversation with Dr. David Cassidy: The Indispensable Gospel

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:47 — 32.2MB)

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Pastor Brito speaks with Pastor David Cassidy, lead Pastor Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN. David is an experienced pastor/theologian who has served the church for nearly four decades. His book Indispensable: The Basics of Christian Belief offers a compelling vision for the Gospel. David brings in remarkable insights into the Gospel story illuminated by life experience as a pastor and a touch of culinary skills to make the conversation even more desirable. Take a listen.

Indispensable

Follow David Cassidy on Twitter

Buy David’s book.

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On May 20, 2019 By In Theology

Why I am Reformed: A Brief Answer to a Friend

Dear Friend,

You inquired so honestly about why I am committed to a Reformed vision of life, that I feel compelled to at least give you a brief overview.

First, it’s important to note that I am Reformed in the catholic sense. By “catholic,” I mean in the sense that I have high regard for other traditions. While I am committed to particular features of the 16th Century Protestant Reformation (see below), I am in no way committed to abiding by every doctrine that sprung from that era. However, when I do disagree with my forefathers, I don’t do it flippantly, but with tremendous respect and caution. They were so loyal to the Scriptures that when I disagree with their interpretation I do it with as much humility I can muster.

Second, I am compelled by the Reformed faith because it exalts God to a place of highest honor. Of course, other traditions exalt God, but the Reformed faith places God as the center of all thinking, living, doing, and abiding. In a culture so heavily invested in the wants and desires of men, the Reformed tradition places the glory of God above all earthly glories.

Third, and perhaps one of the central aspects that drew me to the theology of Calvin, Luther, and Bucer was their immense love for the Holy Bible. The Bible was for them the central and primary authority over all matters of faith and practice. Instead of relying on methods of apologetics that excuse or draws us away from the text, the Reformed faith is unapologetically biblical. God is and therefore everything flows from that presupposition.

Fourth, and I owe this largely to Martin Luther, but what draws me more and more every day to the Reformed faith is its principle that when you sing you pray twice (see Augustine). Luther believed that the congregation needed to be committed to singing God’s words and sound theology. I still recall my first experience in a Reformed church and singing:

His kingdom cannot fail;
He rules o’er earth and heav’n.
The keys of death and hell
To Christ the Lord are giv’n.

I never heard such piercing and powerful lyrics. For the Reformed, the congregation is the choir.

Finally, I am Reformed because of Abraham Kuyper’s mission to apply the Christian faith to every sphere of life. He once wrote: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” For the Reformed, to be a Christian is not just a state of being, but a verb. A Christian christianizes. He brings the joys of heaven to everything he touches on earth.

If I had more time, I’d talk about the Church and how the Reformation renewed a true vision of the Church, but I think my outline above should suffice. Again, thanks for your question and I am looking forward to your feedback.

Yours Truly, 
Uri

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On April 27, 2019 By In Family and Children

On Sunday Sports

Greetings, Dad,

I wanted to write you one more short letter. This one may sting a bit, but you need to hear it. In 1981, a movie called Chariots of Fire directed by Hugh Hudson told the story of Eric Liddell. Eric was a Scottish Olympic Gold Medalist runner. Eric refused to run in a heat held on Sunday. He lost certain privileges. But you see, Eric was a Sabbatarian. He preferred to honor the Lord’s Day instead of the glory of a gold medal. You may disagree vehemently, but at least you can give the man credit for standing up to his convictions on the fourth commandment.


I am not writing to persuade you of Sabbatarianism. There are various shades of it, and some strike me as too strict. But I do wish to convince you that when your children go on travel teams on Sunday, and you conveniently miss the worship of God’s people because of baseball or soccer season, you are violating the clear mandate of the Apostle in Hebrews 10:25. I know for a fact that your motives are pure. You want to spend more time with your son, but I have seen these scenarios played out again and again. Your children will not be better Christians because they spend more time with you. Your children will grow in their Christian walk because they worship the living God.


It will probably be a hard conversation to have, but as the summer approaches, I would make a definitive decision to forbid sports’ activities that would force you and your son to miss the corporate worship. You see, dear brother, families are not built in a baseball field; they are built in the field of the Lord. I know this is hard, but I am grateful to you for listening to my concerns. I hope we can have a few more conversations.

Your truly, Pastor Brito

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On April 26, 2019 By In Politics

Easter: The ABC of our Faith

We need to continually return to the root of our faith, to those first historical events that propel us to move forward as a people. The Church Calendar helps us to never outgrow the life of our Lord from his birth to his Ascension.

The Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. In modern evangelicalism, we tend to view the Resurrection of Jesus merely as validation or proof that the crucifixion accomplished what it was supposed to. In other words, the Resurrection is lovely because now the death of Jesus means something, and we get to spend eternity in heaven. But the Bible ascribes more significant value to the empty tomb.

The Four Gospels navigate us through the life of Jesus and give us a glimpse into the meaning of the Resurrection. But if we simply build our thinking around the Four Gospels, we will have an incomplete view of who we are and who Jesus is. The Four Gospels are not enough. We need the entirety of God’s Revelation. In other words, “If our gospel begins and ends on Good Friday, it is impoverished.”a 

Though we glory in the cross, though we preach the cross, though we love the old rugged cross, the cross is not enough! And I make that statement very carefully. As one scholar stated, “If the story of the prodigal son was only based on cross-theology, there would have been only forgiveness, but no joy and feast.” The message of the cross is incomplete without the Resurrection. The cross and the Resurrection can never be separated.

The Resurrection not only validates the cross, but it is a sure sign that we are shadows of our future selves. We are now partly what we shall be. This reality is apparent as we enter into the Acts of the Apostles: the early Church began to live out their Resurrection among the nations. In fact, “the preaching of Jesus’ Resurrection is arguably more pervasive than the cross in the book of Acts (Acts 2:31; 3:26; 4:2; 33; 10:41). The Psalms most quoted in the New Covenant are Psalms 2 and 110, which speak directly of Jesus’ Resurrection and exaltation. Cyprian once wrote: “I confess the Cross, because I know of the Resurrection…since the Resurrection has followed the Cross, I am not ashamed to declare it.” This is back to basics! We are a cruciform people, but if we overemphasize the cross, our identity is incomplete.

So, let us consider a few implications of the Resurrection, keeping in mind that the Resurrection is more than a confirmation of the cross, but it is the foundation of our faith. Paul makes this point when he says that without the Resurrection, we are of all people most to be pitied. He does not say this about any other event in the life of Jesus.

First, the Resurrection is the objective grounds of salvation. We often look at the cross as the grounds of our salvation, but God saves us by, in, and through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul makes this explicit when he says in Romans 4:25: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” In I Corinthians 15:17, Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” But aren’t we justified and forgiven on account of Jesus’ death? Of course! Romans makes that clear! For the Apostle Paul, the Resurrection is the vindication of Jesus as the Faithful Son and as the righteous sin-bearer.

It is “the creative power of God that imparts life to soul and body.” This is who we are. We are nothing more, nothing less than saints united to the Resurrected Christ. This is the objective ground of our salvation.

Secondly, the Resurrection is not only the source of our justification, our right-standing before God, but the Resurrection is also the power that drives our sanctification; that is our growth in King Jesus. Some theologians have referred to this as anastasity, from the Greek anastasio, meaning Resurrection. Anastasity is the way the Resurrection flows into our lives. I confess this is in many ways is revolutionary to Christians who have never considered the Resurrection in this light. What the cross of Jesus does for us is to bankrupt our pride, it sobers our minds when we become full of ourselves, and it pulls the plug on any naïve triumphalism. When we are tempted to be proud of any accomplishment, we need to look no further than the cross of Jesus to give us an enlightened view of what Jesus had to suffer to take our sins.

But the Resurrection is the other necessary and prominent part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus and part of God’s people. We cannot only have a theology of the cross because a spirituality that meditates only on the cross could potentially reduce us to self-loathing, spiritual insecurity. The impression, then, is that we remain, pathetic, lowly sinners, miserable wretches, unable to do one good thing for God even though we are justified by the event of the empty tomb.

I suggest this is a pietistic simplification of the Christian life? Anglican scholar Michael Bird summarizes best our status:

Some Christians might feel humble when they tell everyone how pathetic they are; a form of self-deprecation. Rightly so, we should be the first ones to share our struggles with others, but let us not think less of ourselves that how God thinks of us. “If God thinks well of his Son, He thinks well of you. If God loves His Son, He loves you, for you are partakes not just of his sufferings, but also of his glory.b

Finally, the Resurrection calls us to a new way of living. Paul says in Colossians: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, not on earthly things.” Some have interpreted this to mean that we are to be so heavenly minded, that we ought to abandon our earthly concerns. After all, this world is merely passing by. But I think this interpretation lacks a fundamental understanding of the role of the Resurrection in the mind of Paul. Who are we? We are resurrected saints. This is the most basic foundation of our humanity as Christians. And if we are resurrected saints, where does the resurrected Christ now abide? He abides at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Where Christ is we are. We are to act and live as if we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. We are to have a heavenly perspective on our earthly life. This reality is to have an impact on our present. Our status in Jesus Christ calls us toward the goal of faithfulness.

Easter is the most basic fact of our humanity. It is who we are. It is because of the bodily Resurrection that we live, breathe, and have our being in a Christ who shows mercy, rather than a Christ who condemns us. The Resurrection of Jesus vindicated Jesus as the bearer of the ugliness of sin, so when he looks at our Lord sees beautified saints. We can never take that for granted. Our standing before the Father causes us to love one another more fully, to serve one another more sincerely, to embrace a more robust view of hope, to feast more abundantly, and to worship the Risen Christ with greater passion. Easter is the abc of our faith. If it is anything less, we are most to be pitied, but thanks be to God, Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

  1. Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology, 436.  (back)
  2. Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology, pg. 445  (back)

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On April 23, 2019 By In Worship

10 Ways to Keep Easter Enthusiastically

Is Easter over?

Theologically, we know that the earthquake of Easter will reverberate until the Second Coming of Messiah. And liturgically, Easter is in no way over. In fact, Easter has just begun. The joy of Easter carries on until June 3rd, which means we still have 49 days of Eastertide. Easter is far from over and there is much more rejoicing to do in the next seven weeks.

The difficulty for many of us is keeping this Easter enthusiasm for such a lengthy period. The reason many evangelicals are ready to get to the next thing is because they lack a sense of liturgical rhythm. Lent took us through a 40-day journey, but the Easter joy takes us through a 50-day journey. Easter is superior to Lent not only in length of days but also in the quality of its mood. Lent prepares us to a journey towards Calvary, while Easter takes us through a victory march. Through Easter, we are reminded to put away our sadness and embrace the heavenly trumpet sound to all the corners of the earth. “He is risen!, He is risen!, He is risen!” The devil trembles, the enemies fear, the forces of evil shake, the sound of sin is silenced when death was defeated.

What does this mean? It means we must be busy in the business of celebrating. For dads and moms, young and old, we have much to do to preserve and pervade this season with jubilance. I want to offer ten ways we can do that in the remaining 49 days of Easter. a

10 Ways to Keep Easter this Easter Season!

First, we can invest time in our dinner table by reading the Resurrection narratives before each meal (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21.) These narratives will remind us and our children of the details of that monumental occasion in history. After reading these passages for a couple of weeks, you may wish to read the I Corinthians 15 text focusing on the centrality of the resurrection in the Gospel proclamation.

Second, begin each morning with the Easter greeting: “Christ is risen!” Response: “He is risen indeed!” Keep the rhythm of Easter fresh and vibrant in the home by opening the day with the liturgical responses of a resurrection people.

Third, keep fresh flowers in the home. Fresh flowers remind us of the re-birth of Jesus as he was birthed glorified from the tomb.

Fourth, add Easter hymns to the daily repertoire of family songs. Here is an easy to sing Easter hymn to the familiar tune of Ode to Joy.

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