The Reliability of the New Testament

In my sermon on May 5th, I explained that I didn’t preach from John 7:53-8:11 as it was not likely included in the original manuscript of the Gospel of John. Several of you commented that this helped you better understand how we got our New Testaments. Over the next two newsletters, I plan to talk about that in more detail. This month we’ll look at variation in the texts, and next month we’ll look at how the books were chosen to be included in the New Testament.

In my conversations with people outside the church I hear a couple of different objections to the trustworthiness of the Bible, but most of them fit into one of the two categories:

• Our Bibles emerged from something like the game of telephone, where a message is passed from person to person and gets changed (intentionally and unintentionally) in the process. Likewise, our Bibles are based on translations of translations, so we don’t really know what the originals said.

• Our Bibles developed in a power struggle between different sects in the early church. The group that won out ensured passages and books that didn’t fit with their theological views were left out; thus our Bibles were the work of theologically motivated groups.

Let’s look at how we got our New Testament texts as a way of answering these objections.

Where are the originals?

It might surprise you that we don’t have any original texts of the New Testament; instead there are gaps of 30 to 100 years between when the New Testament books were written and the earliest fragments we have. This can seem shocking; how can we know the New Testament wasn’t changed at some point?

Some historical context is helpful. While we are used to having easy access to original documents today, it’s virtually unheard of to have original documents for historical writings. In fact, if you place the New Testament manuscripts alongside other historical documents, you’ll see that 100 years is actually a small gap for a historical document. So while original manuscripts are certainly good, we are actually fortunate to have biblical texts so close to the originals. You might wonder why we don’t have those, but the explanation is quite natural: paper doesn’t keep for that long! Unless carefully preserved, paper and papyrus disintegrate. The way people preserved the original copies during that time was to make copies of them.

Another way the New Testament texts stand apart is through the number of old copies we have of them. There was an incredible demand for copies of the New Testament. In fact we have far more copies of the New Testament than any other historical document. As people would take their copies to various locations families of texts developed. Think of it as something like a family tree of texts, and just as certain genetic traits are passed down in a family, so also, certain traits of the text would be passed down the various branches of the new testament texts. If a mistake was made in the copying process that error would be passed down to the texts that were copied from the parent. At first glance it might be concerning to learn that mistakes were made in copying the biblical text, but again, as you learn more it will become clear these errors don’t need to cause great concern.

Source: Daniel Wallace (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/an-interview-with-daniel-b-wallace-on-the-new-testament-manuscripts/)

Errors could be introduced to the text for a number of reasons, but by far the most common are unintentional mistakes, like spelling errors, flipping words around (in Greek word order doesn't matter as much as in English), or accidentally skipping words or phrases. All copies were done by hand, and some copyists were better than others. It’s kind of like when you have a popular product; people will often create knockoffs that look similar but are lower quality. The New Testament was a victim of its own success. No one person or even group of people controlled the Bible; therefore anyone could copy it, and some copies were better than others.

Sometimes though, there were intentional changes. Often this happened with passages that dealt with controversial doctrines, or where something was unclear or perhaps seemed to conflict with other parts of the New Testament. Some copyist, eager to “improve upon” the original text would make slight emendations to it. For instance, Matthew 24:36 reads, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Some manuscripts omit “nor the son;” this was likely done by a copyist who didn’t think it was appropriate for Jesus not to know something.

How we decide which textual variants are original

This leads us to ask, if we have so many texts how do we know which one is correct? Our modern New Testament translations come from what is called an eclectic Greek text. Scholars from all different backgrounds (including non-believers) laid out all the known texts and then worked to reverse engineer the original text. The King James Version comes from the received text, which came from a certain set of texts instead of all the manuscripts. The translators of the KJV did not have access to the oldest texts like scholars do today. This is why certain passages and verses show up in the KJV but not in (or are only noted in some way) in modern translations. And yet, the KJV has relatively few differences from these modern translation that use all the manuscripts. In our modern translations scholars worked through a set of criteria to figure out what was originally written. Two influential textual scholars, Bruce Metzger and Bart Ehrman, summarize the process as follows:

External Evidence

1. Do any of the variants occur in a majority of the early manuscripts? If a variant only shows up later, it’s likely it’s not original.

2. Does any variant have more widespread geographical support than others? If a variant is in manuscripts from various regions, it’s more likely to be original.

3. Which variant comes from the most reliable sources? Certain families of texts tend to be more reliable than others. For instance, western manuscripts tend to show more paraphrasing than copying while texts from Alexandria, Egypt indicate a careful copying process.

Internal Evidence

1. Can you explain any of the variants as an unintentional error of a scribe? For instance, is a word misspelled or switched around?

2. Which reading is more difficult? In general, the variant that is most puzzling is more likely original, because a scribe would naturally want to make things more clear. Although some variants are so absurdly difficult that they are unlikely to be original.

3. Can certain variants be explained by a scribe’s desire to conform the text to certain beliefs or practices of a particular Christian group?

4. Can you explain any of the variants as the scribe attempting to harmonize the passage with another part of the bible? In general, you should prefer the reading that resists harmonization.

5. Does one reading fit better with the original author's style and usage elsewhere?

Daniel Wallace, the Director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, has put all these variants into the following categories:

Untranslatable variations are often changes in the Greek word order that don’t come across in English. Meaningful, but not viable variations are ones that make a change to the meaning of the sentence or passage, but are not viable for some reason. This could be because the variation only shows up in an unreliable manuscript or only shows up in much later manuscripts.

The blue sliver on the chart represents the less than one percent of the variations that are meaningful and viable. After working through the process outlined above, we find that in less than one percent of the variations, we are not exactly sure what the original said. But even in these cases, no crucial doctrines are at stake. In seminary we had to do a text criticism project where we examined one of these instances. I studied John 19:39 which says, “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.” Instead of the word “mixture,” some variants say, “package” or “ointment” or a spelling variation of the greek word for “package.” As you can see, none of these options brings a substantial challenge to any key doctrines of our faith.

Conclusion

Congratulations if you’ve made it this far! Hopefully you’ve been able to follow what I’ve written and now have a greater confidence in the authenticity of the New Testament. The Bible was incredibly popular early on, which led to an overwhelming number of copies--some good and some less good. But all the variants that did occur have been documented and taken into account in our modern translations. Our Bible didn’t come from a “telephone game” process; in fact, our translations go back to the earliest documents we have. Additionally, our Bibles are not the work of theologically motivated groups; where theological changes were introduced into other texts, they have been noted by textual scholars and removed as not original. We should have confidence that the New Testaments we have closely mirror what was originally written.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

Additional Resources

If you’re interested in learning more check out these two websites:

https://www.michaeljkruger.com/

https://danielbwallace.com/

Elder and Deacon Elections

Seven months ago we opened up nominations for elders and deacons at JVC. Fourteen people received the required two nominations to be considered for training; through the initial vetting process six emerged as having the character, calling, and desire for the role of elder or deacon. The training was intense, and I was humbled to watch these six candidates (for Elder: Walt Lynch, Nate McNeil and Shaun Murray; for Deacon: Robert Blair, Jake Hehr and David Sunwall) complete all the work and embrace the seriousness of their calling. Let me share with you some of the highlights. They all have:

Been assessed in their character and leadership by their wives. We asked, “Would the church be a better or worse place if your husband cared for the church like he cares for you?”

Been assessed by a peer (co-worker, neighbor, etc) for their character. We asked, “Would you have a higher or lower opinion of our church upon finding out he was a leader in our church?”

• Completed the same Bible content exam used by our presbytery to assess future pastors.

• Read more than 1000 pages of theological books.

• Written more than 20 pages of response papers.

• Met with each other for one-on-one discipling.

• The deacon candidates organized and led a church workday.

• Each of the elder candidates:

  • Preached a sermon.

  • Planned and led two worship services.

  • Taught an adult class.

  • Wrote a newsletter.

We’ve taken this training seriously because we believe the care of the church is a serious calling. It requires work, determination and perseverance. Most of all, it requires people who love God and desire to live for him and who show that in their daily relationships. It’s been a great honor to work with these men and see them grow and develop their own sense of calling to this work of caring for Christ’s bride, the Church.

On May 19th, you have the privilege of voting these men into office. I’ve shared with you some of what has gone into the training so that you can have confidence that we’ve closely examined their character, calling and competency for this office. If I had the ability, I would welcome each one of them into church leadership today, but one of the privileges of being Presbyerian is that you get to pick your leaders. As we approach this meeting, please be praying for God to give you wisdom. We’ve assessed a lot, yet we cannot know what’s in a man’s heart. Pray that God would prevent anyone from coming into leadership who shouldn’t be, but also pray that God would lay a strong calling on the hearts of each one of these men if they are meant to be there. If you haven’t gotten to know these candidates yet, please say hi to them and ask them any questions.

Just a year ago I was praying for God to bless our church with the gift of church leaders (Eph. 4:11). I certainly did not expect that God would so richly answer this prayer. Please join me in giving thanks to God who cares and provides for his church.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

The Power of Joy

by Nate McNeil

Over the next several months our newsletter will be written by one of our elder candidates as a way for him to develop his ministry to the church.

One thing you have to be ready for each year when you live in Alaska is six solid months of winter. And this is not your average, ordinary winter. It feels forever dark, hopelessly long, and without a limit to the cold. In ‘peak season,’ the daylight dips down to about five hours a day, and I wouldn’t say these are bright hours. The sun just kinda peeks up over the mountains, sparkles off of the ice and snow for a few hours and then disappears again. When I was going to college in Fairbanks, which sits near the middle of the state, it would regularly be twenty degrees below zero at night, and then warm up to zero during the day. Anything above zero in January felt like a heat wave. I still have nightmares about having to live in Fairbanks again.

Then there are the summers. Alaskan summers are amazing, period. Long days; between 60 and 70 degrees most days; green, fresh and full of life. The beginning of July is when most people have completely forgotten about the 6 months of misery they had to endure as they stay up until all hours of the night taking in the seemingly endless daylight and the beauty that it reveals.

Alaskans live for the summer.

Early in my Christian life I learned that walking with Christ is not easy. At least, it hasn’t been for me. I learned that prayer and study are much harder to make time for than they should be and I found myself often making resolutions that I was going to get up at 6:00 am so that I could have a full hour to dig into the Bible and work through my prayer list. I tried reading plans, journals, various Bible translations, devotional materials, etc…

Then the dark time would come, and crying out to God became a normal thing. I needed Him and knew that in and of myself I had nothing that was going to get me through.

Then, He comes. Breaking through the darkness and bursting the bonds apart, He reveals Himself as the God of the universe, the Lover of our souls, the Deliverer and Redeemer... the Rescuer. It’s in these times that we forget, or at least see past, the darkness we were in. The power and love of God is so much bigger than we could have imagined. And we realize we were never alone, and God was never without a plan.

It is the joy that these encounters with Jesus produce that empowers us to endure the dark and cold seasons of the Christian life.

It was for the hope of joy that Christ endured the darkness of the cross. Hebrews 12 says,

For the joy set before him [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

When the sun wanes and the crisp fall air begins to drive you inside, remember the goodness and endurance of our Rescuer. It may just make it a little easier to work through your prayer list at 6:00 am.

The Awe Worthy of Praise

by Shaun Murray

Over the next several months our newsletter will be written by one of our elder candidates as a way for him to develop his ministry to the church.

As we heard a couple weeks ago, our lives are filled with Awe in things and an Awe in God. I would like to expand on that for this March newsletter.

What a joy it is to worship with you all at Jordan Valley Church. I am very thankful for the Lord’s providence in bringing Rachel, Éowyn and me out here to Utah and for giving me the opportunity to go through the elder training. My heart rejoices in the gift and opportunity ahead, and I am in Awe of our Great God.

“Awe” is a word that is very hard to grasp. If I say, “Be in Awe,” what does that really mean? The dictionary on Google says: “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.” The synonyms of it are: “wonder,” “amazement,” “veneration,” and “worship.”

Let’s dive into a few points on Awe:

1. God created an awesome world

God’s creation was made to bring us in Awe of Him and his creation, to bring us into wonder and amazement: The first time we see a waterfall, hear it crashing, and feel the power exploding as the water lands before our feet. The first time we feel a baby kick in her mother’s womb. The first time we step out and see the Grand Canyon--the amazing beauty of the red rock. The first time we taste ice cream as a child and say, “Wow, I want more.” The first time we go to that fine dining restaurant, have that expensive meal, and the flavors burst on our taste buds. The first time we see that person and say, “Wow, I want to marry them.” The first time we wake up at night to a rumbling earthquake, afraid and yet amazed. All these things God has created to bring us to wonder, to bring us to say, “Wow, how amazing this world is.”

2. God created us with a capacity for Awe

We don’t only live in a creation filled with Awe, but we also live as those created to experience Awe. We can tell good-tasting food from bad-tasting food. We know the difference between an amazing symphony that is in harmony and people just learning how to play violin. We know when someone looks beautiful on the outside. We can see details of colors and hues on the thousands of different things we see every day. We can touch the clothing that is smooth, silky, bumpy, rough, grooved, and so on. We can taste the cold of ice cream, the bitter of ginger, and the sweet favorite candy. Every one of our senses leads us to experience the Awe and wonder of the creation that our Great God has made.

3. Where we look for Awe will direct our life

If our Awe is in material things, then our lives will be defined by searching for material things. If we live in Awe of material things, we will spend lots of money acquiring material possessions, and to afford this ever-increasing pile, we will work a lot. We will work longer and harder to afford that bigger house, that nicer truck, and that camping trailer to travel around the world. If we live in Awe of people and our relationships, we will spend most of our time thinking about how we can have the right relationship. Young people will spend most of their waking time thinking about how to get that special someone. Once they have them it will be a constant focus of how to hold on tight to the relationship, and if they lose that person or that child or that relationship, then their whole world unravels. I could go on and on, but I hope you get the point.

4. All of these created things were meant to bring our ultimate Awe in God.

The waterfalls, grand canyons, tastes, colors, relationships, and people are all awesome things. God created us to enjoy the world, but not have that be where we stop. For what is our purpose in life, as Westminster Question 1 asks? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. As you live your life, know that all these wonderful and awesome things were not meant to be your ultimate source of satisfaction. God is--God is the all-satisfying one who is to be pointed to and praised for each scoop of ice cream, each waterfall seen, each camper trailer that brings you to amazing places in the US, each relationship and person that you enjoy to be around and talk with. All of this is meant to point you to our Great God who is worthy to be praised and his great acts, which are worthy to be told from one generation to another. So stop right know and thank and praise the Lord for all these things that bring you Awe.

Go on, stop right now and do it.

Horizontal Awe in creation, relationships and things is like a street sign. It points you to the one truly worthy of vertical Awe: our Great God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

5. Remember that Awesome stuff and people never satisfy

Nothing in the entire world is meant to give you peace, rest, identity, meaning, purpose, or lasting satisfaction. As St. Augustine said “Our hearts are restless until we find rest in Him.” Looking to people or stuff to satisfy our internal desire will only lead us to futility. The things of this world were not meant to do that even though culture and every advertisement we see on TV proclaims that idea.

Instead, look to the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, crushed, risen in glory, ascended in Heaven and pouring forth his Holy Spirit upon the earth as the King of Awe--worthy of praise and worthy of thanksgiving.

Join me in this wonderful, Life-giving way to Live.

Remember this quote by CS Lewis, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Let this not be us at Jordan Valley Church, but let us pray for each other this month to seek our infinite joy in the Lord that created all things, even the feeling of JOY.

One last thing, I encourage all of you to buy or check out the book Awe: Why it Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do.

In Christ,

Shaun Murray

Tell the Next Generation About God’s Works

by Walt Lynch

Over the next several months our newsletter will be written by one of our elder candidates as a way for him to develop his ministry to the church.

God has given us an amazing world to live in. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all we see. He wants us to honor him and thank Him for this world (Romans 1:21).

He wants us to “meditate” on what He has made and remind ourselves and other generations of what we have learned. Look at Psalm 145:1-10 (ESV):

I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless you

and praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your saints shall bless you!

I worked for 11 years as a sole proprietor. I remember one time that I had no work. As I did cold calls, looking for work, I saw a group of sparrows taking shelter in an old building. That reminded me of the verses Matt. 6:25-26, “Look at the birds. Remember your heavenly Father feeds them. He loves you more than the birds, so do not worry. He will feed you.” The Lord did provide work from a small company nearby. Whenever I see birds, I remember God’s provision.

Look at the wild flowers. Your heavenly Father made the beauty of the columbine. God loves you more than the flowers, so do not worry. He will clothe you (Matt. 6:27-34).

I love to walk through the Museum of Natural History. I always have to see the dinosaur exhibit. Just look at the heavy bones holding up the brontosaurus. Some bones are hollow to save weight. How could it control its long neck and tail? God’s creativity and wisdom enabled these large creatures to move and find food. When I read Job 40:15-24 describing a Behemoth, I think of the dinosaurs at the museum.

Behold, Behemoth,

which I made as I made you;

he eats grass like an ox.

Behold, his strength in his loins,

and his power in the muscles of his belly.

He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are knit together.

His bones are tubes of bronze,

his limbs like bars of iron.

He is the first of the works of God; [emph. mine]

let him who made him bring near his sword!

For the mountains yield food for him

where all the wild beasts play.

Under the lotus plants he lies,

in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.

For his shade the lotus trees cover him;

the willows of the brook surround him.

Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;

he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.

Can one take him by his eyes,

or pierce his nose with a snare?

This sounds like a large dinosaur. Job responded in chapter 42 verse 1 and 2, “I know that You can do everything. And that no purpose of yours can be withheld from You.”

God has left His fingerprints on the world. It is most appropriate for us to notice and give Him the praise.

Ten Questions to Ask Yourself

In the past couple weeks, Luke, our seven month old, started sleeping for 12 hour stretches at night. As proud as I am to see him grow, I’m probably even happier about my ability to sleep through the night again! We expect babies to develop and mature. In the same way, Christians should also develop and mature. We would never call a child who stops growing at age five normal, but we don’t often have the same expectations in our Christian life. Can you look back and see ways you’ve grown in Christian maturity over the last year? What about the last five?

What does Christian maturity look like? Consider 1 Timothy 3, where Paul lists the qualifications for elders: “Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.” This may lead you to think that these are special traits for special Christians, yet throughout scripture, the Bible treats these characteristics as qualities every Christian should have or develop:

What does a godly life look like? It’s being committed to your spouse, self-controlled, gentle, well thought of by others. The capstone of Christian maturity is found in simple yet often neglected character traits. How do we develop godly character? It is through Christ’s work in us, yet we are told to “make every effort” ( 2 Peter 1:5) in this work of character development.

I encourage you all to take advantage of the new year to recommit to growing in your Christian life. Each January I often set aside an evening to prayerfully work through a set of questions. Some of these might not work for you, but perhaps they can get you thinking about how to grow in Christian maturity this year.

1. What change will make the biggest difference in my life?

2. What do I need to stop doing?

3. What will I willfully neglect this year?

   There are many things that are not sinful, or even bad, but are unhelpful or a waste of time. These things often keep you from making progress on more important things.

4. How am I going to grow in Scripture?

   This past year I attempted to read one book of the Bible each month over and over and then do another book the next month. You can also pick a Bible reading plan or set some goal for reading Scripture regularly.

5. What relationships do I need to prioritize?

   Are there any relationship you realize you’ve neglected. What about ones you taken for granted?

6. What books am I going to read?

   We tend to read what’s easy for us, whether it’s mysteries, blogs or twitter posts. Pick a book or two that will stretch you. I will usually decide how soon I want to finish the book, then divide the pages accordingly, with a day or two off each week.With this method you can get through some of the longest and most challenging books.

7. What skill do I want to learn or improve?

8. When this year is finished, what will disappoint me most if I don’t do it?

   Once you have that goal, make a plan and set small goals to help you get there.

9. What will I pray for continually this year?

10. For whose salvation will I pray the most?

Write your answers down somewhere and review them once a month so you don’t forget. Don’t worry about changing or even getting rid of some of the goals if they don’t seem right anymore. This is about growing in character, not simply completing a checklist. Remember that something is better than nothing. If you find yourself unable to meet your goals, don’t beat yourself up; simply adjust the bar to be more realistic. In the end, you will still have done more than if you’d simply given up.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

How to Have a Happy Christmas

In our house we’ve been getting the question, “Is it Christmas yet?” When I was a kid December was the slowest month; now I wish it would slow down. Somewhere between the age of 3 and 36, stuff changes, and Christmas isn’t as magical anymore.

This December we are starting a sermon series called Broken Christmas. The goal is not to reclaim the magic of Christmas we experienced as kids, but to remember why Jesus came into the world at the first Christmas. Each week, we are looking at one way we’ve broken Christmas and how to re-center our lives around the God who became human. To go along with our series, we’ve got a short booklet that you can pick up on the back table that covers each topic we are looking at. You can use this booklet to help you put into practice what we talk about each week or to guide your family in a discussion about who Jesus is. I believe every person at JVC should be praying for at least one person to learn the joy of Christ. More people are open to visiting a worship service this time of year, so I encourage you to invite someone this month. Here’s a preview of what we are looking at each week:

We don’t rest: Jesus came to give us rest, but Christmas is anything but restful. How can we rest this season? What does Jesus mean when he promises to give rest to your soul? It starts with taking his yoke upon us.

We don’t relate: More and more people recognize loneliness is a major problem in the US. The holidays often serve as a reminder of how alone we feel. Even those who are married with kids in the house aren’t exempt from loneliness. But God has eternally existed in a relationship, and created us to be in relationships with him and others. We’ll look at how we can we be more intentional about relating to others this season.

We don’t reflect: Technology has allowed us to be perpetually distracted. Rarely are we left along to our own thoughts. Distractions keep us from never having to look inward. Instead of using the season to reflect on more important things we fill it with busyness. Why? Because often we want to be distracted from deeper pain and loneliness.

We don’t receive: Christmas is about receiving more than giving. John 3:16 reminds us that God so loved that he gave us his son. To enjoy Christmas we must receive and rest in Christ.

It seems as if the older we get the harder it is to have a happy Christmas. There are number of reasons for that, but one big reason is that somewhere along the way we’ve broken Christmas. We’ve forgotten the reason Jesus came and the joy he gives. Instead we fill our time hoping to make it through the season intact. My prayer for you all is that this series would help you rediscover the childlike joy of this season.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

Missions

Visiting Pastor Paul (far right) in 2015.

Missions

“I was instructed on the only two topics I was preach this year: stewardship and giving. But I refused.” – Pastor Paul

When I visited Kenya three years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Paul, who pastors the Gaa-barak Local Church in Bomet, Kenya. Like the majority of pastors in Kenya, Pastor Paul had no formal training and would simply imitate some of the best known pastors in Africa and the US. Unfortunately, many of the best known pastors are people like Joel Osteen and others who never speak of the Christian gospel, but treat God more like a generous vending machine: put in your dollar, and two Cokes come out! Thus you can understand the emphasis on stewardship and giving; it’s to get more blessings from God. Unfortunately, the only people getting rich are the church leaders.

Three years ago Pastor Paul started classes at KReST (Kisumu Reformed School of Theology) and it has opened his eyes to the Bible. I was delighted see Pastor Paul as a student in my class this week. He told me he often held the Bible in his hand, but he didn’t teach it. Now everything has changed. Pastor Paul had just finished his Reformation History Class and the issue of indulgences was on his mind. He told me his denomination had leaders like Johann Tetzel, the Dominican Bishop who would cry out, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” His superiors were pressuring for more giving so that you could earn more blessings from God.

Pastor Paul refused to preach only stewardship and giving; instead he wants to preach Christ. He has been called to appear at several councils with church leadership and expects he will lose his job sometime soon. As I spoke with Pastor Paul I told him he is like a modern Martin Luther!

It’s appropriate Pastor Sam Oluoch refers to his work as the Reformation in Kenya. There are many churches here, but it’s rare to hear Christ preached. In KReST there is a bishop who oversees several churches he planted in Eldoret, Kenya. It wasn’t until he met some of the pastors leading the Reformation in Kenya that he realized he wasn’t a Christian. He is now soaking up the biblical teaching at KReST.

It’s been such a pleasure to teach here on the Gospels and Acts. Most of the students are already pastors, but they have no theological training. They are soaking up everything like dry sponges. They are eager to reform their understanding to what Scripture teaches instead of conforming it to whatever the latest celebrity pastor teaches.

Our missions conference is quickly approaching, and this trip has reminded me how important missions are. Your generosity has allowed us to help Pastor Sam plant a church in Nairobi and continue the reformation in Kenya. You have allowed our church to support new churches in Utah, as well as Brian Tsui who is active on the campus of San Jose State. While each of these ministries operates in very different contexts, they have this in common: they want to share the living waters of Christ with those who are thirsty. That’s what missions is about. We want to be a church that shares our resources so more can drink of the refreshing waters of Christ. I hope you will attend our missions weekend. I’m excited to hear about how God has been at work this past year!

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

Picking Your Elders and Deacons

October is a big month for Jordan Valley Church because we are opening up officer nominations. You get to nominate the people to serve as elders at deacons for our church.

The character of our leadership is more important than any gifts or charisma. 1 Timothy 3:1-13 paints a picture of the character of the elder and deacons. What strikes me about it is how ordinary it is. It’s not looking for people who pray for two hours without getting distracted, but people who are well thought of by outsiders. It’s not requiring people who can deliver theology lectures, but people who treat their wives well. In other words elders, and deacons should exemplify the qualities we are looking for in every Christian. To be an elder or deacon doesn’t put you on a different spiritual path, but means you are doing a pretty good job of walking on the same path as all other Christians. When it comes to nominating people I think one of the most helpful questions is ask is, “Who seems to be living the Christian life well?” 

One challenge with nomination people is that about half of our people have been at JVC for less than two years. You might not know some people as well as you would like before nominating them. I would encourage you to err on the side of nominating more people instead of less. Your nominations simply says, “I see potential in this person.” We’ve remade our officer training from the ground up. The training will be intensive and last 5-6 months. If nominees are married, their spouses will assess their husbands’ character. Each nominee will provide a peer reference where someone like a co-worker or neighbor will attest to their character and answer questions like, “Would learning this candidate is a leader in his church make you think better or worse of his church?” For the elder candidates the training will involve a good amount of reading and writing. Elder candidates will also preach on a Sunday and help lead worship services. The deacon candidates will organize a church work day and recruit volunteers. At the end of the training the candidates will be examined and assessed by the temporary session. Those who pass will be presented to you for a vote. This is the vote where you should be more discerning as you are picking the people you want to lead this church in the coming years. But by the time you vote you’ll have gotten to know the candidates pretty well and seen them in ministry.  

The training is intensive and will require a lot from the nominees. This is intentional because we want to ensure that those who lead our church are up to the challenge. I’ve discovered that when faced with challenges, leaders are those who rise to it instead of shrinking away. After an initial vetting process we will present the nominees to you. I want you to rally around our nominees, pray for them, encourage. I don’t expect everyone to make it through the training; that’s fine. Some will realize they don’t have the time needed to serve; others might realize they aren’t ready yet. This training process is really about helping people grow in godliness and developing their gifts, and that is something that will benefit anyone. In the end, I believe those who complete the training will have a great sense of God calling them to the job, a confidence for doing the job, and that they will be equipped to serve this church well. 

One of my favorite things when preaching is when people lift their eyes up to the cross that stands behind our pulpit. This is one of the best pictures of Christian leadership, where the leader has disappeared, and people are encountering Jesus. Church leadership is paradoxical in that sense; you are putting yourself in a role where you will ultimately disappear and perhaps be forgotten. Your job is to decrease so that Jesus can increase in the hearts of the people. That’s why we are taking this training process so seriously–we want men who will pour out their lives so that Jesus will have a bigger place in the hearts of the people at Jordan Valley Church. 

In Christ,

Pastor Jon

Eternally the Father

There were advantages to the naivete Lisa and I had when our first child was born. We had no idea how exhausted we would be. You can’t really prepare for stuff like that; you can only dread it. But now that we’ve had a fourth child, we know that, overall, it gets easier each time because you learn from the mistakes you made the first time around.

I just finished reading Michael Reeves’ book Delighting in the Trinity. Too often we either worry about getting something wrong, or we don’t really understand why it matters; rarely do we see the beauty and delight in worshiping a triune God.  Reeves’ book is one of the best I’ve read on seeing the wonderful implications of the Trinity. I’d recommend you read it and would be happy to lend you my copy. 

One these implications is that God is eternally a father. In other words, God did not become the Father. Many first-time fathers struggle with things like getting the diaper on correctly. (Unfortunately you don’t realize that mistake until it’s too late, and you need to change a whole outfit!) We struggle to help our children with disappointments and hurts. In each stage of life, we make so many mistakes. We mean well, but we just don’t know any better. Experience helps, but we never do it perfectly. 

Part of the reason for this is because we become a father or mother. It’s not natural to who we are. You must have a child to be a father (or mother). Now this is where the Trinity comes in. A classic trinitarian statement is “one God in three persons.” These three persons existed eternally together in a loving and perfect relationship. And the relationship between the first and second persons in God is described as a father/son relationship. In John 17:4, Jesus prayed to his father who loved him from before the creation of the world. Or Colossians 1:17 says, “the Son was before all things.” Or in Mark 1:11, God the Father says, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Because of the Trinity, God has always been a father. It’s part of who he is. Being a father is as natural to God as breathing is to us. For those of us who are parents, all of our life is spent learning what it means to be a father or mother. But it’s different for God; everything about being a father, God is. There is no becoming.

This should be a comfort to us, because one of the primary ways we relate to God is as a father. We’ve all had different experiences with fathers–good and bad. And yet, what a comfort it is to know that all of us can know the perfect father. Unlike earthly parents, who mess up as they learn, God never messes up. He doesn’t make mistakes in our life that we have to pay for. The paths he has placed us on are good ones. Even when those paths don’t seem good, we shouldn’t forget God is our Father, a good father. And just as a young child doesn't understand why Mom and Dad do certain things, we don’t understand all that our Father makes us do. But it’s comforting to know he’s not learning to be a father with us; he is already the perfect Father doing this for our good. What a delight it is to follow a God who is both a king and a loving and perfect father to his children. 

In Christ,
Pastor Jon
 

Presby-what?

A few years ago I was helping out at our church's booth during fall festival. We’d set up a sailboat race and saw several hundred people try the game. Next to our prizes was a stack of flyers about the church. Many would look at our materials and say something like, “Presby... Presby-what?” For those who could pronounce Presbyterian, their next question was something like, “So what kind of church is that?”

Often, in my attempts to explain what a Presbyterian church is, I got the impression the person regretted asking the question! And I regretting trying to answer it; in the end I’d rather talk about the gospel. But there are reasons why we are Presbyterian, and as I’ve gotten better at explaining why, I thought I’d share with you three key things that have been helpful. 

It Doesn’t Tell You Much About Theological Convictions

First and foremost a we are a Christian Church. This is why, in addition to supporting our own denominational church plants, we support the planting of a Reformed Baptist Church in Nairobi; we are also helping a non-denominational church plant here in West Jordan by letting them use our building on Sunday evenings. 

“Presbyterian” really tells you more about a church’s government than it does its theology. Presbyterian churches trace back to a common origin, but now you will find a pretty wide range of theological positions within various Presbyterian denominations. In fact, we have more in common theologically with many non-denominational churches than we do with some Presbyterian churches. 

Plurality

The word “presbyterian” comes from the greek word presbuteros, which is often translated as “elder” in our english Bibles. (Acts 20:17, 1 Peter 5:1) Most simply, “presbyterian” means “elder-led.” Pastors are called teaching elders, and ruling elders are lay people elected by the local congregation. When eldership is mentioned in the New Testament church, it’s almost always spoken of in the plural. Thus, a Presbyterian church will always have at least one ruling and one teaching elder. If a church has only one elder, elders from other churches will be assigned to help oversee that local church until it elects its own. There is never one person in authority; it’s always shared.

Accountability

This ties in to the next distinctive of Presbyterian churches: there are multiple layers of accountability. Our local elders are accountable to a presbytery, all the elders from a particular region. We are part of the Northern California Presbytery and meet three times a year. Additionally, presbyteries are accountable to what is called the General Assembly, which is the collection of all the Presbyteries in our denomination. Everyone in a Presbyterian church is accountable in one way or another.

Why it matters

Why do we care about all this? For one, it means we can take comfort in knowing there are a lot of checks and balances in our church and denomination. It is much harder for a pastor or church to stray theologically in our form of government. It also means that members of a presbyterian church have a process of appeal if they believe a local church or presbytery has erred. The Presbyterian form of church government makes it possible for an individual’s voice from a local church to be heard.

Just this week, I was listening to a podcast interview with Thomas Crumplar*, an attorney who has spent a lot of time prosecuting sex abuse cases, particularly ones in churches. In his interview he made a bold claim: “If I had any advice to the church on how to avoid abuse, I’d say [choose a] presbyterian form of government.” As much as I wish this was because we sinned less than others (we don’t!), it’s in part because of the two distinctives I mentioned: plurality and accountability. He said presbyterian churches are the least likely to be caught up in sex abuse suits, because “they catch them and do something about it.”  We certainly aren’t perfect, and we shouldn’t deceive ourselves into thinking sexual abuse couldn’t happen in our church. (We must always be on guard and wise.) But I’m thankful to be part of a denomination that provides robust accountability to keep sin from spreading and to give victims ways to make their voices heard. 

In Christ,
Pastor Jon

* Get the whole interview at: http://www.alliancenet.org/mos/podcast/44247 

When On Vacation, Don’t Take a Break from Worship

Psalm 115 warns that we become like what we worship. The truth of this is seen in the teen who starts dressing and talking more like his or her favorite celebrity. As we get older, we are still shaped by what we worship, but it often takes different forms. One of the landmarks at our church is worship. Landmarks help keep you pointed in the right direction when you are traveling. In the same way, right worship of God keeps us going in the right direction on our journey to know Christ. Essentially, worship is showing you value something. It’s saying no to things you value less in order to give time or attention or money to the things you really value. Everyone, no matter his or her beliefs, worships; we just have different objects of our worship. 

This is all to say, as you travel, camp and enjoy your vacations this summer I’d encourage you not to take a break from worshipping our God. If we truly love him, why would we want to take a break from worshiping him? Let’s talk about a few benefits of worshiping while on vacation. Why should we do it? 

To help pass our faith on to the next generation

I believe one of the keys to raising children who love God is to be parents who genuinely love God. When we worship God while on vacation, it helps to show our children we really value him. One constant when my family traveled was Sunday worship. So whether we went to the outdoor amphitheater at a National Park, or listened to a cassette recording of a sermon and sang from old hymnals, or looked up a church to visit in the local phonebook, we worshiped God. From a young age, my parents showed me that worshiping God is a privilege that we enjoy even when no one (or at least our pastor) is watching.

To be encouraged by how God is at work elsewhere.

Often I only think of how God is at work in my own area of life. So when I go to a different church and hear stories of how God is at work there it’s a refreshing reminder of how much bigger God is than me! He’s at work in so many ways beyond what I can see. To see it in some small church out in the country reminds me there is no place too small for God to give us careful attention. 

To encourage others about how God is at work in Utah.

When I travel outside of the state, people are always interested to learn what it is like to be a Christian in Utah. They are always interested in how God is at work. Fortunately, Utah is such a fruitful place for ministry that it’s easy to share some stories of amazing things God is doing. When we travel we can encourage other believers. 

To be reminded that we are all part of the body of Christ.

A few weeks ago I got a letter on thick stationary with the U.S. Capitol building embossed on it. It was a letter from a young man I met when I visited Capitol Hill Baptist Church back in March. He works as an aid to a congressman, and yet he took time out of his busy schedule to write me a note to express how he had been praying for us and our church. One of the beautiful things about visiting other believers is that we quickly discover how much we have in common. I often will pray for the people and churches that I visit, and I know many of them have in turned prayed for us. 

To be reminded how hard it can be to visit a new church.

It’s easy to forget all the questions and fears you have when visiting a new church. How will people dress? Will they do anything weird? Will people say “hi” to me? What do we do with our kids? Visiting a church on vacation gives you a taste of what the visitors here experience each week. It’s helpful to be reminded of that so that we as a church can take extra care to welcome visitors and help make our church a friendly place for them.

How To Find a Church to Visit

Church directories are helpful. If you wanted to visit another PCA Church (our denomination), this directory can help.  If you want to explore other churches a little, the Gospel Coalition church directory will give you a list of churches that hold to many of the same essential beliefs we do but come from various backgrounds.

If you are camping or in a remote place, it can be a good opportunity to have family worship. Print out a few songs you are familiar with, download a sermon MP3 or have your own family Bible study and then pray together. Sometimes some of the best discussions can come out of these times. 

In the end, worship is about showing what we value. Vacations are times to be with the people we value most, and certainly God and his people should be part of that. 

In Christ, 
Pastor Jon

A Walk Through the Worship Service: The Sacraments

If you have ever needed a document notarized, you know how much of a hassle it can be. Sometimes the simplest form (oftentimes some sort of government document) requires an additional trip to the post office or the nearest bank, and you may even have to pay a fee, all for a simple stamp and a signature. The notary stamp does not change the document in any significant way, but it is placed upon the document as a seal of the document’s authenticity, attesting that the signature is genuine (not forged), and that the signer was not coerced into signing. 
 
Even if getting certain documents notarized seems like a hassle at times, we all recognize the value of an authentic signature in the right situation. By a simple signature, the President of the United States can take a bill from Congress and make it a law. The president’s signature does not add any substance to the bill, yet the bill cannot have the authority of the law without it. On a more personal level, when we see the signature of a loved one at the bottom of a a greeting card, it helps us to connect with the sender in a special way that receiving an unsigned card cannot. The words in the card are the same with or without the signature, but when a loved one signs the card, we know that the words it contains are true for us.
 
In a similar, but much more significant way, God gave his church ongoing reminders of the authenticity of his love for us. We call these ongoing reminders “sacraments.” From the time of the New Testament and onward, the Christian church has recognized that there are two sacraments, which Christ commanded as ongoing ordinances to be received until he comes again: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (or Communion). 
 
In Romans 4, Paul says that Abraham “received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:11). Much can be said about this verse and how it displays God’s saving grace for Abraham through faith. As it pertains to the sacraments there are a few things that should be pointed out. 
 

Signs

First, the Old Testament ordinance (circumcision) is called a “sign.” A sign is simply a visible marker that points our attention to something greater. A sign on the front of a restaurant cannot feed you, but it represents or points to the place where you can be fed. For this reason signs are very important. Without them we would hardly be able to navigate around our world. Still, the signs are only as good as the realities they point to. Baptism, as a sign, points to how we have been washed free from sin and raised with Christ into a right relationship with God. Communion, as a sign, shows that we are continually nourished by God, and we enjoy constant fellowship with him because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. 
 

Seals

The second thing that Paul says about the ordinance given to Abraham is that it is a seal. A seal, as described above, affirms the authenticity of what is being stated. Just as an ancient king would place his wax seal across a letter with his signet ring, God places his seal on us to affirm that we have been forgiven of our sins and that we live in union with him. As seals, the sacraments do nothing to add to Christ’s work, but they benefit us as God’s signature over our lives. The sacraments make an authentic declaration on behalf of God that we are his, and he will never let us go. The reformer John Calvin put it this way: “The sacraments are exercises which make us more certain of the trustworthiness of God’s word...Mirrors in which we may contemplate the riches of God’s grace, which he lavishes upon us.”
 

Faith

Finally, we can see in Romans 4 that Paul says Abraham received the sacrament “by faith.” There is nothing magical happening in baptism and communion. They do not work, as is taught by Roman Catholics, simply because they are performed. They are effective only through faith, so they are of no benefit to those who have not trusted in Christ for salvation. A person might indeed receive the sign prior to faith (as was the case in the Old Testament with circumcision, and today with baptized babies), but the sign is of no benefit until faith is awakened in one’s heart. Moreover, God does not look favorably upon the one who consciously receives the sacraments apart from faith (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). On the flip side, when the sacraments are received by faith, nothing can rob us of the grace that God gives us in them, because his Holy Spirit confirms in our hearts what the sacraments signify. 
 

Baptism and Communion

As a final word, it is worth mentioning how the two sacraments are similar, and how they are different. The two are similar in that they are both given by God, and the Holy Spirit confirms to us the benefits of Christ. They are both seals of the same covenant of grace, and both are to continue as sacraments until Christ comes again. The sacraments are different in what they represent, and therefore, in how they are administered (how we do them in church). Baptism is given only once as a sign and seal of our new life in Christ (justification). To put it simply, since our salvation is a “one time event,” the sign for salvation only happens one time. The Lord’s Supper, however, represents and exhibits Christ as our continual spiritual nourishment, and continual growth in him (sanctification). Because we are always being nourished by Christ, we continually take communion. 

I hope this helps you as you continue to grow and understand what we’re doing in our worship services every Sunday. 
 
In Christ,
Pastor Bryan

A Walk through the Worship Service: Confession of Sin

A couple years ago I read an article about websites where people could mail in anonymous postcards with a confession or secret, and the card would be displayed online for all to see. Some are lighthearted: “My new year's resolution is to brush my teeth every day. I’m 21.” While others let you feel the weight of one’s struggle; written on a pictures of donuts is, “My mother’s eating disorder affected me more than she will ever know.” 

While confession as part of a worship service is becoming less common, the act of confession is thriving outside the church. While the details and understanding of this confession are different from what we do in church, it shows we all have something in common–we aren’t who we wish we were. While we try to hide those things, it’s also freeing to give words to them. But we are scared that if we are totally honest no one will accept us.

Confession in our worship service gives us something better than these websites. In our confession of sin, we can be honest with a God who has already forgiven us and promises to help us. 

Many think of confession as something only Catholics do. You sin, you go to the priest, he tells you what to do to make it right, and tada! Everything is good! Underlying this is the thought that if we sin without having confessed that sin, we aren’t fully forgiven. Our relationship with God is somehow dependent upon how we are doing. No sins this week? Great! God and I are on good terms. Bad week? Well I’ve got to spend some time in the dog house before God brings me back into his home. 

But such thinking doesn’t fit with Scripture. While part of becoming a Christian is repenting of our sins and trusting in Christ, once we are in Christ, Paul clearly says us there is no condemnation for us! (Rom 8:1) We don’t need to worry about confessing every sin if we want to be free of God’s judgment. Jesus has paid it once for all!

That is exactly why we should rejoice in our ability to have a confession of sin; although there is no condemnation for us, our actions are often contrary to what Christ wants. We sometimes call this process of becoming more like Christ “sanctification.” The weekly confession of sin is an integral part of our sanctification; it’s not about needing to get right with God again every week.

In Romans 2:4 we read that the kindness of God leads to our repentance. Don’t mix the order up. Often we think that our repentance leads to God’s kindness, but God always shows us his kindness first. His kindness melts our hardened hearts and brings a conviction of sin. The first step to godly change in our life is a conviction of our sin. Confession gives us a place to name those sins and ask for God’s grace and power to help us change. Confession is a mark of the Christian life; when we confess our sins we should be encouraged–it is a sign that God’s Spirit is at work in our hearts! When we go weeks, or even days, without a sense of conviction, that’s when we should be concerned. 

Most of our confession takes place in our private prayers. But there is a long history and value to having a time of corporate confession in our worship services. Here are a couple reasons why:

It strips us of hypocrisy.

Christians (sometimes rightly) are accused of hypocrisy, as we can be up in arms about others’ sins while turning a blind eye to our own. When we gather together as a church and confess our sins it reminds us we are all sinners in need of God’s grace.

It unites us with each other.

It’s easy to think we are alone in struggles with sin or to think our problems are harder than others. One of the beauties of coming together in our time of confession is that it reminds us that those around us are also sinners completely dependent upon God’s mercy. While the details of your sin might differ from the details of my sin, both our sins required the death of Christ. Two people with little in common find companionship in knowing they are both sinners and both in need of God’s grace. 

Confession of sin keep smaller sins from growing into bigger ones.

People are sometimes forced to make a confession when they have been caught in a big sin. But there is beauty in confessing sins that are more like the little weeds that have just started to grow in your heart. When we hear God’s word preached it brings a conviction of those little sins that often no one else knows about. Continual confession help keep the weeds of sin from overtaking your heart. 

I always look forward to the confession of sin in our worship service. It often feels a like a detox for my soul. It’s a moment where I can be honest with God, more honest than I am with anyone else, about the state of my heart. I can pray for God’s Spirit to change me and mold me more and more into his image. What a privilege it is to bare our souls to God and know that he will never leave us or forsake us. God chose us to be his, knowing all our sins past, present and future. And now God is committed to changing us into the likeness of his perfect son Jesus. 

In Christ,
Pastor Jon

Christianity in a World of Cultures

Christianity has always related with culture from its onset. In fact, Christ was born into one of the cultures in the world. It is the relationship of culture to Christianity that is of concern here, especially now that the world is presenting duplicity of cultures or beliefs as a result of postmodernism, which is challenging absolute reasoning and authority. We cannot assume, given the evidence in history, that culture has no effect on Christianity or vice versa. It is true that Christianity has traversed many cultures, if not all. But how does it maintain its core aspects amidst cultural diversity? Does it lose some of its truths by becoming multicultural, or does it influence cultures and so force them to lose some of their aspects? It will be meaningful to see how the gospel, worship, relations, conflicts and missions in the Christian set up are handled among different cultures. 

This relationship of Christianity and culture has been viewed in several ways before. In Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture, he presents five views that are common to man. The views take the form of Christ against culture, Christ for culture, Christ making use of some part of culture, Christ dwelling in tension with culture, and Christ transforming culture. However, it is impossible to take one view and run with it because different cultures will present other forms. Moreover, we can risk relativism if we were to propose all views. 

D.A. Carson, in his analysis of the five views, found them insufficient to be proposed as a view to be taken by Christians. He therefore proposed a multicultural view alongside christian segmentation of various cultures. In this view, Christianity embraces all cultures but segments those areas of culture that are sinful or life threatening. This perspective will now form our basis as we look into the various aspects of christian life in various cultures.

In proclamation of the Gospel, Christians coming into a new culture must ensure that the presentation reaches the thought forms of the new culture while also maintaining the truths of the gospel, especially the beauty and offense of the cross and resurrection. The aim will be understanding that brings conviction.

Worship styles will definitely be different across cultures; yet the great question for us when we worship in these cultures should be whether we are bringing out the important elements of worship to the new person in a manner that he may participate and realize the reverence of God. We will be forced to leave the forms we are used to and take the new culture's forms while segmenting it to offer reverence to the word and glory of God. The greatest dilemma so far in worship is music, given that different cultures have various forms. But the christian mindset should be clear to take up those forms, styles or tunes that are not associated with sin. 

Moreover, Christianity has played an important role in building strong relations between people of different backgrounds, encouraging friendships, marriages and partnership for the Gospel from people all over the world. In view of Cross-cultural friendships, marriages or partnership for the Gospel, the Bible points out that these interactions are to have Jesus Christ and the Gospel as the center of meaning and reason when two people from different cultures come together. However, these relations have not been smooth in all cultures. There are some situations where conflicts have risen due to the different cultures. Christianity not being blind to the facts has been able to solve conflicts by pointing to the various cultural misconceptions due to sin in man while presenting the gospel as the solution to sin and peace for all men.

Finally, Revelations 7:9 presents to us a multicultural Bride of Christ, indicating that cultures are inherently not bad. This fact should encourage us to heed the call of Christ to make disciples of all nations, being careful to present the gospel clearly and give glory to God.

In Christ,
Amos Omia

A Walk Through the Worship Service: Preaching

Many people question how effective preaching is today. More and more studies show simple lecture style learning is not as effective as other learning methods. So why would we continue to have a person get up each week and talk to us for 30-40 minutes? Surely there are more effective ways to communicate! 

Such reasoning, though, misses the point of preaching. It’s not first and foremost about passing on information about God. Indeed, if that were the goal there might be better ways of doing that. But preaching is a God-ordained act that accomplishes his work of new creation; therefore, it is not primarily about passing on information or even teaching. Preaching must do that, but it is about more than that. 

One passage that makes this clear is Romans 10:14-17, 

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

To summarize, we could say saving faith (which is God’s gift) comes through the preaching of God’s word. Christian preaching is miraculous. It brings a new life of faith; it plays a vital role in God’s work of making a new creation, one where the world is made as it ought to be. This seems like a tall order for the person who gets up each week to speak. The good news is that the power of preaching doesn’t come from the speaker; it comes from God and his word.

These days we don’t like to think words have power, but the Bible shows the incredible power of words in Genesis one. God speaks, and darkness gives way to light. God speaks, and deserts become lush gardens. God speaks, and stuff happens! 

Not long after the creation of the world, sin entered the picture. It messed up life as it was supposed to be. It broke the relationship between God his people. But God promised that he would make all things new again. He would begin a work of new creation, to restore and redeem everything that was broken. 

How then does this work of making all things new spread throughout the world? It’s by preaching. God takes the preacher’s ordinary words and imbues them with his holy power (1 Cor 2:1–5). Ezekiel 37 gives us an incredible picture of this power. God takes the prophet Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones. The vultures had gotten their fill. Maggots and worms finished the job. And now the desert sun had bleached the remaining bones until they started to crack. God then asked Ezekiel if these bones could live. Ezekiel responds by saying, “O Lord God, you know.” God tells Ezekiel to speak to the bones, “O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” As Ezekiel did so, the bones started coming together, flesh appeared, oxygen filled their lungs, and suddenly from the dry bones sprang up an army of living people! That is the power of God’s word. Preaching in this biblical sense matters because it’s how God works in the world to bring life out of death. Preaching can occur behind a pulpit or in a valley of dry bones. The location doesn't matter. Preaching is what God uses to restore life to what has died. Each week we get to experience the miraculous work of God in our lives through hearing God speak through the preaching of his word. 

In Christ,
Pastor Jon

A Walk Through the Worship Service: Singing

A few years back, in 2014, I remember hearing a story about a fellowship of people in California, that describes itself as a “god-free community that meets monthly...to celebrate life.” During the gatherings, the community listens to lectures, plays games, and sings songs. Although they would shy away from being described in religious terms, some have appropriately tagged it as “atheist church.” Furthermore, I found out that this was just an offshoot (church-plant) of a larger group (denomination) founded by two comedians near London who wanted to do something like church, even though they were atheists.  Called “Sunday Assembly,” the group now has over 70 chapters (congregations). 

When I first heard about Sunday Assembly, it did not surprise me that there was a community of do-gooders meeting together who want nothing to do with god-based religion. What was strange to me is that they always sang songs together as part of their service, but I guess this should not have been surprising either. People love to sing together. Whether it is belting out a good song on the radio with your friends, singing along at your favorite concert, or getting together with a bunch of people on a Sunday morning, the joy of song seems to be woven into the fabric of humanity, spanning cultures and generations.

Of course, God is the one who invented songs and the human voice, he is the one who made music enjoyable, and singing is not something that we should shy away from. Quite the opposite, in fact, Scripture commands singing as part of regular worship: “Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name” (Psalm 30:4). “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16). 

Still, as with so many other things that God has created, there can be a tendency to use songs for purposes other than glorifying God. In the book of Exodus, this is poignantly displayed. After God brings his people through the Red Sea, Moses and the people sing a song to the Lord about his great deliverance (Exodus 15:1-21). Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the people were worshiping an idol, and it was their loud singing and dancing that gave them away as having broken God’s law. This caused Moses to smash the tablets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 32:15-19). The prophet Amos talks a lot about singing, especially singing in church, but never in a positive light. Indeed, God was repulsed by the fact that his people had turned away from him in almost every way, except for their church services, which seem to have been as vibrant and joyous as ever. So he says to them, “Take away from me the noise of your songs...I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation” (Amos 5:23; 8:10). 

Knowing this, we want to be mindful of how we sing in church. We don’t gather together to be enraptured by song and swept away by melodies, with only a passing glance at the words that come out of our mouths. We are instructed in Scripture to be both emotionally and rationally engaged in singing — to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). So Paul says, “I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also” (1 Corinthians 14:15). The songs we sing in church should make our hearts leap for joy, bring us to deep contemplation, and even to humble repentance, but not because they are beautiful and mindless melodies, nor because they are crafted with brilliantly poetical verse. Instead, they should instruct our hearts with the gospel truth of Scripture, that the word of Christ might thrive in our souls (Colossians 3:16). While this doesn’t mean that in order for a song to be a “good church song” it must be boring, it does mean that everything we sing must be uncompromisingly true. 

Finally, you need to realize that God doesn’t care if you sing well. The widow who gave out of her poverty gave much more than those who gave out of their abundance (Luke 21:1-4). You might have the vocal equivalent of two copper coins, but God is happier to hear you sing to him in reverence and worship of Jesus Christ, than an entire professional choir singing Handel’s Messiah with no regard to the person of Christ. Self-conscious as you may be, the psalms repeatedly instruct us to “Make a joyful noise to the Lord!” (Psalm 95:1-2; 98:4,6; 100:1). It is my hope and prayer for you that you can take these words to heart, looking forward to that day when we will all sing the song of Moses in heaven:  “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!” (Revelation 15:3). 

In Christ,

Pastor Bryan

Walk Through the Worship Service: Corporate Reading

I struggle to spell the word “ridiculous.” I messed it up on the first try, but thankfully I have spell check. Another option would have been to ask any one of my three girls. Each of them can spell it just fine. I have Disney’s Descendants movie to thank for this. It includes a song that spells out ridiculous. R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S, It’s (ridiculous), Just (ridiculous) and so they go a-singing and surpass me in their spelling abilities.

Children are natural learners, especially learning through imitation. And kids have a remarkable ability to mimic the thing we don’t want! While our inclination to imitation isn’t as strong as we get older, people still are social creatures and learn through seeing and hearing others. 

Catechesis is not some relic of a bygone era, but something that happens every day through what we hear and read. The word catechism comes from the Greek word katekhizein, which means to teach or instruct. So it’s not so much a question of whether or not you are being catechised, (you are) but what is catechising you? 

Each week in our service we participate in a corporate reading that often comes from a catechism (we are currently going through the New City Catechism) or some historic creed or confession of the faith. Congregational participation has been part of worship for several thousand years. In the Old Testament, God’s people gathered on two opposing mountains and would shout God’s words to each other from across the valley. (Deut 27:12-13) This practice continued in the early church, where there are records of reciting an early form of the Apostles creed when someone was baptized. 

One reason we do this is because it reminds us of what we have in common with other believers. People often accuse Christians of being divided, or wonder why there are so many different churches if there is just one God. While various churches may differ on less important matters, most of these churches are united around the basics of the faith, as described in the historic creeds of the church. For instance, while we are a Presbyterian Church, we only ask one hold to the basics of the faith to be a member.

Fuzzy notions about God and superficial understanding of biblical truth are unfortunate marks of too many congregations today. A lack of theological foundation has left many unanchored and pulled by the currents of whatever water one is swimming in. When Paul speaks to the church leaders in Ephesus, he warns them of those who would act like believers, but promote false beliefs. (Acts 20:29-31) In other words, sometimes the greatest threats are not from the secular culture, but from those claiming to serve God. When you are in an unfamiliar place your senses are heightened to danger, but when you are in your own home your are at ease. Unfortunately, too many books, movies, and speakers roam freely in the Evangelical community, yet (often unknowingly) teach about God, Jesus and salvation in ways that are contrary to Scripture. While this may seem innocent, the danger is that it leaves a groups of people who are, in the words of Paul in Ephesians 4:14, “tossed and blown about by every... new teaching.” A faith built upon such teachings leaves one always thirsty, but never satisfied, because one is not actually drinking from the rich truths of Christ. A Christianity based upon a Jesus who is a few degrees off from the Jesus in the Bible robs people of the Christ who holds all joy. A catechism and other statements of the faith provide teachings that are easy enough for children to memorize, yet robust enough to capture the essence of biblical teaching. What is taught in these statements isn’t what just one person has come up with; they have been affirmed by believers across time and throughout the world. When we recite these corporate readings in worship we stand with a great cloud of witnesses! 

In Christ,
Pastor Jon

A Walk Through the Worship Service: Prayers

In this newsletter series, Pastor Bryan and I are explaining the purpose behind the elements of our worship service. Our service is not just based on what we’ve done in the past (although it is influenced by our Reformed and Presbyterian heritage), nor is it simply based on what will attract the most people (although we do want our service to be inviting). More importantly, our worship is based on how God instructs us to worship. We want to worship God in a way that pleases him. A well intentioned gift of peanut brittle to someone with a severe peanut allergy does not bring joy. In a similar way, even if our intentions are good, we want to ensure our gifts of worship are the type God actually desires.

This month we are examining the role of prayer in our worship service. One of the instructions the Apostle Paul leaves for the church is to pray when we gather for worship. (1 Tim 2:8) Thus prayer is a necessary part of our worship service, but the particulars of the prayers in the service will vary church by church. Let’s look at some of the prayers we offer in our service:

Invocation: This is the prayer that comes near the beginning of our service. This prayer is our response to the call to worship where God initiates a conversation with us. The invocation reminder us that unless God is at work, our worship will fall flat. This is important because people often think worship is effective if there is a great band or impassioned preaching. But such things–apart from God’s Spirit–are like the flash of a match that is lit but soon dies out. Worship’s effectiveness is found in God who fuels our (sometimes feeble) efforts to praise him. 

Prayers of the People: As a child I was always curious which elder would be doing this prayer, so that I could prepare myself for long how it would take! However, our purpose isn’t to bore children (or adults), but to pray for God to work on behalf of others. At our church we usually pray for people in the world, our state and our church. We try to model our prayers on the things we are told to pray for in Scripture. This certainly includes physical needs (Matt 6:11), but many of the prayers in Scripture focus on growth in godliness. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Church is a good example:

“I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” (Eph 1:16-17)

Prayer for Illumination: God’s Spirit takes the words of Scripture and brings them to life.  The power of preaching is not in one’s speaking ability, but in God’s Spirit working through the preacher and through the minds of the hearers. 

Prayer as Discipleship

One other reason we pray in our service is to help teach others to pray. We have the blessing of having a number of people visit our church who have never been part of a Christian church. If I get the chance to talk with them I will often ask what they thought about the worship service. I frequently hear things like, “The prayers are different than other prayers I’ve heard... in a good way,” or, “When you pray you sound like you are talking to someone you know.” The prayers in our worship service have made people curious about our relationship with God. 

I was recently talking with someone who had no Christian background but through the ministry of our church is coming to know Jesus. She has struggled to pray, in part because she’s never done it out loud. But as we were talking I noticed that she listens to the prayers during the service. Our prayers are helping teach her how to speak to God in a way she never has before. This makes sense; children learn to speak by hearing others speak. Christians learn to pray by hearing others pray. This underscores the importance of prayer in our worship service, but even more, it shows us how important it is for Christians to be willing to model, through prayer, what a conversation with God looks like.

In Christ,
Pastor Jon

A Walk Through the Worship Service

The other day I saw an advertisement for a certain brand of apple cider, and I learned that there are over 600 varieties of apples, each with its own characteristics that can influence the taste of cider, favorably or unfavorably. In order to get the best tasting cider one has to pay close attention to the varied qualities of the apples used. 

If you’ve spent any amount of time in Christian churches, you might feel sometimes like you are choosing from a wide variety of ciders. A worship service might be sweet (enjoyable), bitter (legalistic), bitter-sweet (good sermon, bad music), bursting with flavor (exciting and exuberant), or complex (reverent). Of course, the “flavor” of any individual worship service has as much to do with the attendee’s preferences as it does the service itself. In much the same way that you might prefer Granny Smith over Fuji apples, you might have acquired a taste for a certain “flavor” of worship. 

Scripture, however, does not treat worship as a matter of personal taste, but of spirit and truth (John 4:23). Even if there is room for variety, judging any particular worship service based purely on our personal preferences over-against those of others reduces worship to interactions between people, rather than seeing it as a meeting between God and his people. With this in mind, we’re going to spend some time over the next several months talking about our worship service — what we do, and why we do it — so that we can begin to see worship for what it is: God meeting with us by means of his word and sacraments, drawing attention to the worthiness of Christ our Lord and Savior, and our responding in thanksgiving and adoration.

The Call to Worship — God Invites His People to Glorify and Enjoy Him

When speaking of the Lord’s Day, puritan theologian John Owen said, “All duties proper and peculiar to this day are duties of communion with God. Everlasting, uninterrupted, immediate communion with God is heaven.” Although we often think of being in the presence of God as something that we only truly get to experience in heaven, nearly everything that is true of God’s relationship with his people in heaven is true of God’s relationship with his people today. This means that heavenly worship can happen today (Hebrews 12:22-23). 

Communion with God is and always has been something that he initiates and carries out through his speech. It was the case with Adam (Genesis 1:26-28), Abraham (Genesis 12:1), Moses (Exodus 3:4; 20:1), and culminated in God speaking to his people in his living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:14; Hebrews 1:2). The consistent pattern in Scripture is that when people try to initiate a relationship with God apart from his word, it results in idolatry and confusion, but when God initiates a relationship with his people by his word, fellowship with him is established and blossoms.

With this in mind, our worship service on Sunday mornings begins with a call to worship from Scripture. Through his word, God invites his people to glorify and enjoy him. The selected passage will always be one which draws attention to the magnificent attributes of God, the benefits he offers to his people, or the honor that is due his name, and will sometimes instruct God's people to draw near to him accordingly. Often, this passage will come from the Psalms, like Psalm 95, “Come let us worship and bow down.” As easily, it might be a New Testament scripture like 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Since worship is always responsive — God speaks to us and we return praise to him — we will often read portions of these passages aloud together. 
 

The Benediction — God Blesses His People With His Continual Presence and Power

In a similar manner, when we conclude worship on the Lord’s Day, we go with a word of blessing from God. He is the beginning and the end, and he has the first and final word in the Call to Worship and Benediction. “Benediction” just means “good word,” or “blessing.” Although you will often see people closing their eyes during the Benediction, it is not intended to be a prayer of the people to God. Rather the Benediction recognizes God as the final gift giver. So being, the minister will often lift his hands as way of signifying that God pours his blessing out on his people. There are many benedictions in Scripture (Romans 15:13, Hebrews 13:20-21), but they all share the common sentiment of Numbers 6:24:26: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” He blesses, and we are blessed. 

One could say that worship is about seeking what tastes the sweetest to us, but not in the same sense as choosing red apples over green ones. Rather, it is an invitation from God to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). To realize that we are not blessed by what we bring to God in our variety of worship, but by what he gives to us as he speaks to us in and through his word.

I hope this helps as you think about why we do what we do at JVC, and that you will have a sense of God’s presence as he meets with us every week. 

In Christ,

Pastor Bryan