Ecclesiology
A Vision for the Church… from One Verse!
As we begin this New Year, one verse of Scripture delineates a gospel shaped vision for the church: “I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge, and competent to instruct one another” (Romans 15:14). Head: “Filled with knowledge”A gospel shaped church is one in which its people are “filled with knowledge.” Gospel shaped churches seek, savor, and share doctrine and teaching as supremely found in Scripture. Teaching and doctrine, after…
The Reason the Ascension Is So Important
Christmas and Easter are important markers on the Christian calendar. And rightly so. If Christ was not born, and if Christ was not resurrected, we would not be saved. Another important marker, forty days after the resurrection the ascension occurred (Acts 1:3, 9). (May 26 this year.) Unfortunately, the ascension is often overlooked. Many Christians do not celebrate the ascension as they do Christ’s birth and resurrection. This lack of celebration is unfortunate because without the ascension, we also would…
What is One of the Best New Year’s Resolutions You Could Make?
According to one website, the top five New Year’s resolutions are: Exercise more Lose weight Get organized Learn a new skill or hobby Live life to the fullest Not surprisingly, joining a local church did not make the list. But joining a church is one of the best New Year’s resolutions you could make. Here’s why. In the third century, Cyprian of Carthage (c 210-258), once said: “No one can have God for his Father, who does not have the…
The Existential Threat to the Church
Politicians claim the existential threat to our world is climate change. What is the existential threat to the church? I believe the existential threat to the church is failing to define herself biblically. And the pandemic has brought this threat to the surface like never before. When COVID-19 hit last March, most evangelical churches quickly moved their services online. To be sure, live streaming services existed before the pandemic, but it became mainstream during the pandemic. And live streaming has…
Why Is Our New Building Important?
The church is God’s people gathered in a place to worship him. This gathering can occur in a house, in the market, on a beach, or in a building designed for a church gathering. Praise God he has led us to, and provided the way for us to acquire the building on Holyoke and Lakeville Blvd. But is this new location important? Our new location is important, and it is not important. What do I mean? The new location where Grace…
Desiring Church
John Piper has built a ministry around the concept of “desiring God.” The basic idea, as Piper often puts it, is that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. In my opinion, in general, Piper has done a great service to the Christian Church in his teaching, though I do not agree with everything Piper has taught. What I want to do in this short blog is to build on the idea of “desiring…
Why Participate in the Lord’s Supper?
This coming Sunday we will participate together in the Lord’s Supper. This is no small privilege. Christians of previous generations employed much ink and spilled much blood over this ordinance. However, to a world not familiar with Christianity—a Muslim from Iran or Hindu from India—the Lord’s Supper seems strange. It does. Always has. After all, in the first century, Christians were accused of cannibalism because they said they consumed the body and blood of Christ. In light, then, of this…