Independence In Perspective

American Independence has been treasured for generations, though there is very little of it left.  Most of America was once an assembly of independent homesteads.  However, they were not totally independent because man cannot provide everything himself. 

Truthfully, rugged individualism can become idolatrous when God is not recognized as the Ultimate Provider. Though man was created to be creative and to do things for himself on a broad spectrum, only God can cause the sun to rise and the rain to fall.

The Rise of Expository Preaching

In the place of sound verse by verse expository preaching has come a montage of topical sermons. Topical sermons aren't bad, they just get worn out because topics are limited.  Their greatest deficiency is when large portions of rich Scriptural texts are inevitably passed over, sometimes on purpose.  Even moreso, many of these topical sermons have become ineffective because they have turned from merely topical to altogether superficial.  It's one thing to preach on the issue of debt on a given Lord's Day (which is badly needed), yet it is another thing to talk endlessly about money and how God is going to give you a boatload of it.

In spite of all the bad topical sermons and even an overabundance of good ones, there has been a return in orthodox circles to sound verse by verse expository preaching.  Expository sermons, when crafted and delivered well, have tremendous impact because they bring full exposure to the Word of God. Each section is read and preached through carefully, which reduces the amount of eisegesis (a reading into the text what is not there).  This takes extensive time and effort, yet its fruit is far more plentiful.

Expository preaching also protects the pastor from false charges, and, likewise, it keeps the pastor from maliciously directing sermons towards any given person.  Because the expositor is preaching through a large text (perhaps a book of Scripture), everyone knows what the next sermon will be about, so accusations to embarrass a particular sheep from the pulpit will generally reduce and/or go unfounded. In the same way, if someone has a beef against the pastor before the sermon, an effort by the pastor to attack individuals personally from the pulpit will be prevented because that is not part of the expected sermon.

Therefore, let us preach expositorily for the betterment of both the Church and its pastor.

Liberty to Worship God

There is much talk of liberty these days amidst endless litigation, extensive regulation, and high taxation. However, even if one has greater liberty in all of these areas, slavery to sin is still the main issue. To be free from the power of sin to worship the living God is the greatest liberty of all, for sin brings an infinitely greater magnitude of burden than lawsuits, regulation, and taxation combined.

Man was created to worship God, yet He exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever, Amen. He rejected true liberty and enslaved himself to sin. Nevertheless, where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, for Christ atoned for the sins of His sheep as the Good Shepherd. 

Therefore, repent you wicked sinner, and turn to Christ placing of all your faith in Him, for He alone is the Living Hope that we desperately need.  He alone sets men free from their bondage of slavery to sin to worship the One True and Living God. 

It is a terrifying the thing to fall into the hands of the Living God, yet it is sweet joy when empowered to worship Him and not the vain trifles of this passing world of sin, disdain, and death.

To Him be the glory! Amen!

Right In His Own Eyes

The end of Judges proclaims that there was no king in Israel and that every man did what was right in his own eyes. This is moral relativism; it is an old philosophy that corrupts. Lawlessness results because no standard of law is enforced. Truly, any society without a basis for law will turn into this. The only solution is tyranny or basing law on Biblical principles. Man often chooses tyranny over Scripture because he wants autonomy apart from God. Sadly, magnifies man's hatred and contempt for God. Might we repent instead.

Politics: Nothing New Under The Sun

We tend to complain or even become apathetic about politics because of all the 'corruption', but there is nothing new under the sun. As bad as it is, tyranny of the elite has become the norm for six thousand years. Man is inherently sinful, so he will seize power, and use it to his advantage. For this reason, America was started as a nation that recognized man's lust for power. However, the system will continue to degrade the more America leaves her basis for justice: a Judeo-Christian ethic. We will soon find out that direction. Even so, our God is sovereign, and nothing comes to pass apart from his decree. We rest in that as Christians.

Decades of Abortion

Abortion has been legal in America for almost 40 years. This is a testament to the depravity of our society. We are ruthless with the unborn yet lenient upon the most hardened of criminals. Why then are we not surprised when God does not bless us? Truly, our current financial meltdown is only the tip of an imposing iceberg.

In The News: Oil Pipeline

There has been much debate over a pipeline that could create jobs and improve America's energy independence. However, it has far reaching political implications, so it has stalled out because of radical environmentalism. As Christians, we are called to good stewardship, but that does not mean that we cannot develop and use the world that God has given us.