|
|
|
.
|
From Faith to Faith
June 2007 The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated during morning worship June 17th. Please prepare your hearts and minds for approaching the Lord’s table. June Preaching Schedule 2007 Vacation Bible School Schedule
From Pastor Mark Scholten Some of the greatest philosophical questions that a man can ask are; Why am I here? What is my purpose for living? Our Catechism answers in 15 words. Our ultimate purpose is to acknowledge and reflect the glory of God and in so doing to find our highest joy. Christianity is characterized as a religion of self-denial. And self-denial does have a place in the Christian life. But Christianity is ultimately a religion of self-fulfillment. Redemption returns us to our created purpose. We truly find ourselves, maximize ourselves, when we seek to know and enjoy God. We were created for communion with and delight in God. To know God is to love him and to find everlasting joy. What does it mean to glorify God? Can we add to his glory? (Job 35:7) God is already infinitely glorious, we do not contribute to it. What is God’s glory? It is who he is. “God’s glory is simply the inescapable “weight” of the sheer intrinsic God-ness of God, inherent in the attributes essential to him as the Deity.” We must acknowledge or declare his glory, but we cannot add to it. Ridgeley summarizes for us, “Thus we glorify God by making mention of his name with reverence, proclaiming his goodness with thankfulness and inviting others, as the Psalmist does, to “taste and see that he is good.”” Created things can glorify God by simply by being themselves; by being what it was created to be. A rock by being what a rock was created to be declares the glory of God. Man, by being what he was created to be, reflects the glory to God. We were made to commune with God. But we, unlike other creatures, are to actively declare the glory of God. How do we do that? Thomas Vincent explains “men glorify God, when the design of their life and actions is the glory and honour of God.” (The Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Assembly Explained and Proved from Scripture by Thomas Vincent) What does it mean that our chief end is to enjoy God? Many see this as pertaining ultimately to life in a sinless state when we will enjoy and commune with God without sin. But eternal life begins now. We can, and should enjoy God now as we walk in communion with him. This is not pie in the sky bye and bye, there is a slice of the pie available now. We should be enjoying God as redeemed people in fellowship with the living God today. John Piper promotes the understanding of “to glorify God BY enjoying him forever.” What are we to think of that? His provocative statement of Christian Hedonism modifies the answer to Question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism to read "Man's Chief End is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever." In inserting 'by' instead of 'and' in the answer he argues that our enjoyment of God is not an added extra for the ultra emotional or enthusiastic Christian, but rather an indication of whether God really is our chief end. These are not two things, one being to glorify God and the other being to enjoy him, but rather they are the same thing. We glorify God by enjoying him, and we enjoy God by glorifying him. Again, Ridgeley is helpful here, “God has joined these two together, so that one shall not be attained without the other.” “Chief end” in the confession is singular. It is not ends, but end. To glorify God and enjoy him forever is one thing, not two. Was that what the writers intended? Thomas Vincent asks in question 7 of his exposition of the first question of the Shorter Catechism, “Why is the glorifying of God and the enjoyment of God joined together as one chief end of man? Because God hath inseparably joined them together, so that men cannot truly design and seek the one without the other. They who enjoy God most in his house on earth, do most glorify and enjoy him.” John Flavel, likewise, in An Exposition on the Assembly’s Catechism, “Why are the glorifying and enjoying of God put together, as making up our chief End? A. Because no man can glorify God, that takes him not for his God; and none takes him for his God, that takes him not for his supreme Good; and both these being essentially included in this Notion of the chief End, are therefore justly put together.” “Our pursuit of God’s glory should not be mere duty, but also our delight. “There is no conflict between gratification of desire and the enhancement of man’s pleasure, on the one hand, and the fulfillment of God’s command on the other…. The tension that often exists within us between a sense of duty and wholehearted spontaneity is a tension that arises from sin and a disobedient will. No such tension would have invaded the heart of un-fallen man. And the operations of saving grace redirected to the end of removing the tension so that there may be, as there was with man at the beginning, the perfect complementation of duty and pleasure, of commandment and love.” Congratulations to Mark Althuis who is the salutatorian for the 2007 graduating class of Massillon Christian School. Mark graduates June 1st and plans to attend Akron University-Wayne College in the fall and study mechanical engineering. Deacons and Elders The deacon meeting has been moved one week later in June to June 16th at 8:00 a.m. The deacons will meet alone for one hour and then join Session at 9:00 a.m. for a joint meeting. Deacon Tidbits... The deacons would like to thank all of you who turned out for the workday on
May 12th. “Be watchful, STAND FIRM in the faith, act like men, STAND FIRM: It is not a secret that an increasing number of people in our society are becoming increasingly frustrated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am not here to try to convince you of the merits of these wars. I am much more concerned that we continue to provide loyal and, if necessary, sacrificial support to our troops, including those who are undergoing medical treatment in our Veteran Affairs and Civilian Hospitals. In reality, our service members are on the battlefields because our nation sent them. They are sacrificing greatly. I say this not only in my role with Chaplain Ministries, but as a father whose son is currently serving in Baghdad. I address this issue with you because during these times it is all the more important to increase our resolve for troop support and to STAND FIRM. They need and deserve our support! I believe that if there is any institution or group of people in our society that needs to provide emotional, physical, and spiritual support for our troops it ought to be the Church. One of the most effective and meaningful ways to provide the necessary support is to send chaplains to institutions and our military. Consequently, I am requesting that you do not become weary in this ministry. Our chaplains need your prayers. We need to send more chaplains and we need to support those we send. Please pray. Please give. In grateful appreciation for your heart and much needed support for Chaplain Ministries, David Peterson MNA Chaplain ministries Coordinator Prayer Chain Requests April 26:Praise report from Carl Childers! They returned from seeing the oncologist and Carl’s X-ray from last week is good. He does not see the doctor for six more weeks. From Carl: “We are thankful for the good results and the many faithful prayers from God’s faithful people, to pray so long for me. Thanks be to God!” May 12:Praise report from Sue Caler! Six months to the day when Sue entered the hospital (expecting to return in ten days) she is home! Sue is sleeping on her own couch in front of her own TV. The Caler family would like to thank each of you for your prayers. She needs to gain strength, but is now able to walk with the help of a cane and someone to steady her. May 14:Judy Roach is experiencing severe lower back - hip pain and muscle spasms since straining her back a couple of weeks ago and her pain has worsened. Judy has seen a doctor and is on medication. They will review the situation in a couple of weeks to decide if a CAT scan will be necessary. Please pray for comfort and strength for Judy and her family. Areas of Service: There are two areas of need for the month of JUNE 2007. If you would be able to host the First Sunday Fellowship Time or the Second Sunday Visitor Fellowship Meal please sign up on the bulletin board. (There are areas of service available for the future months as well. Please see the sign up sheets on the vestibule bulletin board if you are able to be a door greeter or host a meal.) Bible Questions and Answers 1.Finish Christ’s sentence, “These ought ye to have done, and not –.” 2.In what Book is the saying about the Lamb’s book of life? 3.Who advised the Sanhedrin to let the Christians alone, saying that if their work was of God, it could not be overthrown? 4.What did James say no man could tame? 5.Who said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”? On what occasion? 6.Finish this sentence, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man – .” 7.Who said that in the judgment day a man shall give account of every idle word he has spoken? 8.What did Paul call “the first commandment with promise”? 9.Who asked God to put his tears into his bottle? 10.Who laid his sin to “the woman whom thou gavest to be with me”? 11.What is the proverb about spreading a net in the sight of a bird? 12.What is Christ’s question about spoiled salt? 1.“to leave the other undone.” (Luke 11:42) 2.Revelation 13:8 3.Gamaliel (Acts 5:38-39) 4.The tongue. (James 3:8) 5.God, at Christ’s baptism. (Matthew 3:17) 6."the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9) 7.Christ. (Matthew 12:36) 8.“Honor thy Father and Mother.” (Ephesians 6:2 9.David. (Psalm 56:8) 10.Adam. (Genesis 3:12) 11.“Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.” (Proverbs 1:17) 12.“If the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it?” (Mark 9:50) |
