This post is full of resources to help you look further into the topic of the Church and Society and for you to know what sources I’m using besides the Bible, thinking, conversation, prayer, and the personal disciplines. You can see my reading list below the list of resources. Feel free to comment on the series, the topic and offer your recommendations below.
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Mystery in the Incarnation
J.I. Packer said that the coming of Jesus (the Incarnation) was the central mystery of the Christian faith. In Knowing God he said:
“The supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us, does not lie…in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of Incarnation. The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man…” (emphasis added)
That is not to say the crucifixion and resurrection are not mysterious. But if I had to explain to a crowded room either…
1. Exactly how does Christ’s death saves us?
OR
2. Exactly how is the Christ both really God and really man?
…I would definitely choose the first question. But that does not make the doctrine of the incarnation any less significant in our faith.
What is MY role in becoming a Christian?
Question from the Congregation
My small group discussed a question recently, and they encouraged me to present it to you: “What is my role in becoming a Christian? I have always felt I had some role in becoming a follower of Christ—responding to the calling rather than just turning away, denying Jesus access to my heart and life. However, from the reading/sermon I clearly understood that I have done nothing and it is all God’s grace. Could you consider expounding on this?”
Nic’s Response
The distinction in the Bible’s language about our actions essentially divides them into actions that are meritorious (meaning that, in return for such actions, we deserve something), and those that are essential (meaning that we have to do them, even if such action doesn’t cause us to deserve anything).
Focusing on Christ in the Midst of Christmas Craziness
Advent may have started on Monday, but it’s not too late to begin an Advent devotional to help focus our hearts and minds on what this season is truly about. To help get you started, we collected a few for you to choose from.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
Continue reading Focusing on Christ in the Midst of Christmas Craziness
2014 Year End Gift: Explanation and Description
GLOBAL MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES
HPC MISSIONARY SUPPORT: This money allows us to give our missionaries a Christmas gift and encourage them and their families during the holidays. In addition to that, many missionaries are below the amount they need to stay on the field. As other churches shrink in size and as missionaries who stay on the field for long terms are forgotten, new sources of funding have to be built-in to keep those missionaries on the field in a way in which they are adequately resourced and not constantly coming back to the United States for funding. This funding helps make that possible.
Continue reading 2014 Year End Gift: Explanation and Description
Trusting the God Who Doesn’t Explain Himself
The word sovereign doesn’t technically mean “in control.”
It means “in charge.” It means that something is rightly under someone’s authority or within their dominion.
Some will read that and say I’m playing with words, but the difference is important. It’s important because it means that we can’t say all actions are “caused by God.” Things that God says he finds terrible or evil are related to God in more complex ways. As the One who chooses how to interact with the created world, he may prevent it, permit it, direct it, or limit it (for a helpful reading, see Millard Erickson’s Christian Theology, pg. 372). As God works all things for the good of his own glory and name, as well as for our good, his rule still interacts with the amount of rebellious independence he allows to humans. This relationship is enormously complex, and I have never read a completely successful explanation of it.
Continue reading Trusting the God Who Doesn’t Explain Himself
Engage & Equip 