MENU

Author

On June 5, 2019 By In Worship

What is Pentecost?

Many Christians know little about the Church Calendar, which means that many evangelicals will treat this Sunday like any other day. This Sunday marks the beginning of the Ordinary Season (not in the mundane or common sense, but the term comes from the word “ordinal,” which probably means “counted time”). This season is composed of 23-28 Sundays, and it fleshes out the mission of the Church. To put it simply, Pentecost is the out-working of the mission of Jesus through his people.

Some pastors–myself included–usually take these few months to focus on passages and topics pertaining to the specific life of the Church, and how the Church can be more faithful and active in the affairs of the world. The Pentecost Season emphasizes the unleashing of the Spirit’s work and power through the Bride of Jesus Christ, the Church.

Liturgically, many congregations wear red as a symbol of the fiery-Spirit that befell the Church. The Season brings with it a renewed emphasis on the Church as the central institution to the fulfillment of God’s plans in history. As such, it brings out the practical nature of Christian theology. Joan Chittister defines Pentecost as “the period of unmitigated joy, of total immersion in the implications of what it means to be a Christian, to live a Christian life” (The Liturgical Year, 171).

Pentecost as Spirit-Work

There is a Spiritlessness in Reformed teaching and worship today. Pentecost exhorts us to be spiritual (Spirit-led) while emphasizing the titanic role of the Third Person of the Trinity in beautifying the world to reflect the glory of the Father and the Son.

Calvin was known as the “Theologian of the Spirit.” This is hardly manifested in many of his followers who tend to flee from the implications of  Spirit-led applications, choosing a mental overdose of theological categories. However, the Spirit is crucial to the forming and re-forming of any environment. It communicates our thoughts, emotions, and prayers to our Meditator. The Third Person of the Trinity intercedes on our behalf in the midst of our ignorance (Rom. 8:26-30).

Further, the Spirit draws individuals (John 6:44) to enter into one baptized community of faith. The Spirit, in the words of James Jordan, is the “divine match-maker.” He brings isolated individuals into a Pentecostalized body, a body that has many parts, but one Head.

So, let us embrace this Season! Let us join this cosmic Pentecostal movement and embrace the mission of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Read more

On April 5, 2019 By In Theology

Meditating on God’s Law

Imagine a lawyer sitting down to write about the laws of the United States.  She knows it is an impossibly broad task to sum up the vast expanse of federal law, but she wants to express to the reader that the laws of the United States are, in the main, right and just.  Suppose also, that she chooses to address her writing to the “United States” personified, and she writes in the mode of a modern panegyric. 

Even under these eccentric circumstances, can we imagine her writing something like, “Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments . . . With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.  In the ways of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.  I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.  I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word . . . Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law”?  (Psalm 119:5-6, 13-16, 18).

 If she did, she would feel very alone if she had done much reading in her subject.  Many legal treatises and law journal articles have passed dully over my eyes and none of them extol the law in this way.  Even lawmakers, when they’re introducing a bill they’re sponsoring, do not speak of their proposed law in such terms.  The most enthusiastic supporter of civil rights would not praise the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in this way.  At their best, such laws are expedient, or practical, or groundbreaking, or necessary.  They are never wondrous, wonderful, sure, true, or righteous. 

(more…)

Read more

On April 4, 2019 By In Podcast

Episode 55, Ecclesiastes Through New Eyes; Conversation with Dr. Jeff Meyers

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:34 — 17.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

On this episode, Pastor Uri Brito sat down with Dr. Jeff Meyers to discuss the book of Ecclesiastes. Jeff wrote a fascinating commentary on this wisdom literature book many years ago, and it still remains one of the most insightful commentaries to this day. Among other things, the conversation focuses on the use of the word generally translated as vanity in our English Bibles. But Meyers observes that a proper translation of the Hebrew hebel can influence the rest of the interpretation of the book. This is a fascinating and fruitful conversation.

Resources:

You can purchase Dr. Meyers’ book on Athanasius Press.

Three Essays on The Wisdom of Ecclesiastes By Jeff Meyers

Read more

On March 19, 2019 By In Books, Family and Children

Call me…

“Call me Ishmael.” This opening line, one of the most famous in literature, is actually a rather strange turn of phrase, considering that Ishmael appears to be the narrator’s real name.  In normal speech, we don’t say “Call me ____.” Instead, we say, “My name is ____.” We only ask people to call us a certain way when our given name does not match what we want to be called.  Imagine a college student introducing herself at orientation saying, “My name’s Elizabeth, but call me Liz” when her parents and everyone else who knew her up to that point called her “Beth.” Assuming she’s successful in getting her friends to call her Liz, what has she done? Is it a momentous change, or fairly trivial? What if she chose a completely different name for her new friends to call her, like, “Brittany?”  Is that different? In short, what are we doing when we try to change our names? I submit that we are attempting to play God.

            God is the supreme “namer.”  He named day and night (1:5), Heaven (1:8), Earth and Seas (1:9), and he named Man (1:26).  From the beginning, mankind names creation as an act of dominion and image-bearing.  Adam named the animals that God brought to him, and those were their names. (1:19-20).  In the act of naming the animals God brought to him, Adam became wiser to their nature.  He became aware that there was not a helper fit for him among them.  In Adam’s most significant act of naming, he named the woman that God had formed from his ribs.  In doing so, he also penned the first poem, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (2:23).

            A careful reading of scripture, especially the book of Genesis, reveals that names are vastly important.  Names reveal covenant significance as well as character.   In some cases, a person arrives on the scene with a name that already says something about their character.  For example, James Jordan has pointed out that Rebecca’s name is a pun with the Hebrew word for “myriads.”  She was providentially named that before any human thought that she would be part of the covenant line.  In other cases, God renames the person.  When God renames the person, it is generally in the context of cutting a covenant.  Whenever God gives a person a new name, God’s renaming is efficacious.  That is their name.  Abraham is Abraham; he is no longer Abram.  Sarah is Sarah; she is not Sarai.

(more…)

Read more

On March 14, 2019 By In Scribblings, Wisdom

Lenten Journey, Day 8

Galatians 6:14: But far be it from me to boast [in anything or anyone], except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

We are told not to boast. Boasting assumes our excessive trust in our own achievements. It’s the talk of pompous and powerful men. Yet, the Apostle Paul urges us to boast. For Paul, our boasting is not in our own conquest, it’s the conquest of Another. We boast in a tree that was cut down to save us. We pride in a tree, shaped in the form of a sword where our Savior hung.

Jesus died to become the sword of salvation to all who believe; the protector of all those born anew. In him, we are rescued, restored, and redeemed. We boast in a Savior who conquers by dying.

In these remaining thirty-three days, let’s boast! Let us proudly exalt the cross of Jesus. Let’s show Christian pride in a bloody cross bearing a beautiful Savior.

Read more

On February 12, 2019 By In Counseling/Piety

Monastic Frat Boys

Guest Post by Joseph Bailey

It’s hard to measure the significant impact of Benedictine monasteries upon the church and Western culture. At a time of tremendous upheaval, uncertainty, and dark paganism in Europe, these tiny communities living under the Rule set forth by St. Benedict both preserved the light of Scripture and learning and, at the same time, advanced the light of the gospel within the gates of Germanic warrior culture.

While it was far from neat and tidy in its efforts, the monastic movement sought to lay down roots of biblical living within the fertile ground of paganism that would produce a spiritual vineyard to choke out the weeds of worldliness. Far from being isolationist, they were on a reclamation project- reclaim the truth of Scripture, reclaim the life of holiness, reclaim the earth under its rightful lord, King Jesus.

St. Benedict states at the end of his Rule that this way of life was not meant as an end in itself. He set down a blueprint of monastic life that was meant for beginners, to begin the process of true discipleship. It was not for the chosen few who were super-saints. It was to lay a foundation of biblical community that could (and did!) overcome the darkness around it.

(more…)

Read more

On January 25, 2019 By In Worship

The Gospel Invitation

Is there a Gospel invitation? To many evangelical Christians, the answer to that question is an unqualified “yes.” Some calvinists, reacting against the misleading character of the “altar call,” seem less interested in inviting men to anything than they are in sending men away to think about the message they have heard. The answer to this conflict is to understand that the Gospel invitation is an invitation to come into Jesus’ house and have supper with Him. The psychological instinct in the “altar call” is correct: Men should do something and come somewhere in response to the call of the Gospel. Physical response, holistic response by the whole person, is the proper response to the Gospel. It is a perversion to hide the Lord’s Supper from view and to ask men to make some hidden, inward motion of the “soul” in coming to Christ. The Biblical gospel addresses the whole man, and the whole person is expected to respond.

To come into Jesus’ house to eat His Supper, a person has to cross the threshold of the house. That threshold crossing is the sacrament of Baptism. We do not invite men to be baptized; we invite them to come in and eat, but they must cross the threshold and be baptized before they can sit down. In the parable of the wedding supper (Matt. 22:1-13), one man shows up without the proper garment. Obviously, he did not come in through the door, or he would have been washed and given one (cf. also John 10:1-9).

It is interesting to note how the Greek philosophical influence has gutted Scripture of its clear meaning for so much of Christendom. In Revelation 3:20, for example, Christ asks to be admitted to the church so that He can participate in His own Supper! This, however, is instinctively read by the modern mind as “asking Jesus into your heart,” which the passage really has next to nothing to do with. Revelation 3:20 is speaking of the covenant meal.

(more…)

Read more

On January 19, 2019 By In Podcast, Politics

Episode 46, Trinity and Tabletalk, Conversation with Robert Rothwell

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:07 — 19.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

From the faculty room of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Pastor Brito interviews Associate Editor of Ligonier Ministries, Robert Rothwell. The famous TableTalk magazine, read by over 250 thousand people around the globe is one of the most treasured devotional in our day. Robert writes those devotionals as well as contributes to theological articles.

In this interview we discuss the history of the magazine, as well as delve into some questions concerning the Trinity. Robert is considering a dissertation on the topic. Take a listen.

Resources:

TableTalk Magazine

Articles by Robert Rothwell

Read more

On December 17, 2018 By In Podcast

Episode 44, The Legacy of Greg Bahnsen, KC Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:59 — 15.7MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

In this interview, Pastor Uri Brito speaks to Andrew Sandlin, the president of the Center for Cultural Leadership. We discuss the legacy of Professor Greg Bahnsen and the lessons he left us as we celebrate the 23rd anniversary of his death.

Andrew was a friend of Dr. Bahnsen and one who continues the Bahnsenian legacy of faithfulness to the Scriptures and commitment to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ over all areas of life.

Resources:

The Bahnsen Book Library

The Bahnsen Audio Library

David Bahnsen honors his father.

Read more

On December 14, 2018 By In Pro-Life

The Shifting Strategy of Pro-Abortion

Have you noticed a shift in strategy by supporters of abortion? Have you detected the establishment of a new philosophical foundation for killing our own children? I think I have.

In the beginning, it was a matter of privacy. Abortion was a simple surgery, on par with a vasectomy, and no one should be listening in on conversations with a woman and her doctor. Abortion was a simple medical procedure that removed a clump of unfeeling, undifferentiated cells from a woman’s body. Of course, this argument became increasingly difficult to maintain, as ultrasounds of babies in utero became more widespread.

In the not too recent past, abortion was called a difficult decision that should be left to a woman and her doctor. That word “difficult” put some moral weight into the conversation. I mean, it is never a “difficult decision” to have a skin tag, or a pre-cancerous mole removed. It is just tissue, and healthy tissue will replace it. Undoubtedly the difficulty of abortion requires that you acknowledge at least the potentiality of this baby having a life of its own.

The argument moved a bit further down the philosophical track by declaring that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare.” Why rare? The evidence is piling up that a very young fetus can feel pain, that they are unique human beings and are entirely distinct from their mothers even while they are dependent upon them. Abortion should only occur in extreme situations goes the argument. But what qualifies as extreme should again be left to the mother and her doctor.

Well, people became increasingly uncomfortable with abortion for just any reason and at any point in the development of a child, so restrictions began to increase in state legislatures. Can the baby survive outside the womb? You may not kill the child. Can the baby feel pain in the womb? You may not kill her then either. Are you killing the child for a genetic defect, say being conceived a girl? We won’t allow you to kill her for that reason.

Positive care was required. You have to provide medical care to a baby born alive during an abortion. You have to keep medical records on the woman coming in for an abortion. You have to have admitting privileges at a local hospital so that if you rip a hole in the mother’s uterus as you are cutting up her child, you can transfer the mother with her medical records describing what transpired. These restrictions did not sit well with abortion advocates.

In 2015 we learned that Planned Parenthood had negotiated prices for fetal eye tissue (and brain matter, and spinal cords, and feet, toes and tiny fingers) and the outrage became so great there was an actual movement to take away federal tax dollars from them (damn radicals!).

This was a bridge too far, and proponents of abortion set their argument for abortion on a new moral foundation. Abortion is good, and it is good in and of itself. The killing of your child is a thing to be celebrated. You should SHOUT YOUR ABORTION. Let the world know what a good thing it is to kill your baby. Better for him, better for the mother, better for society. Abortion is no longer a necessary evil – it has become a moral imperative.

Today we write hymns about our abortions. We set up virtual shrines with ultrasound images of our babies so we can speak to them about how grateful we are to have the right to kill them. We demand that fetus joins us in our worship of self.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the fetal lullaby:

You can listen to an interview with Al Stout at Kuyperian Commentary.

Alan Stout is the Associate Pastor of Providence Church in Pensacola, FL and active pro-life advocate in the Pensacola community. He serves on the board of Emerald Coast Coalition for Life.

Read more