TCCExtra

  Many of us have been hoping for something for a loooooooooong time—the salvation of a loved-one or some other break-through—which stubbornly refuses to come to pass.  What are some truths that are sturdy enough to cling to?  Here are a few a friend sent Tricia and me, to encourage us while we wait: 1.       God is God and God is good. (Jeremiah 32:27,40-41) 2.       God loves you and your loved-ones more than you can comprehend. (Romans  8:37-39) 3.       God’s way is always better than my way. (Deuteronomy 32:4) 4.       Sometimes I need to take things off the throne of my life and put them on the  altar.  (1 John 5:21 5.       God will accomplish what concerns you and me.  (Psalm 138:8) 6.       Thank God—even for the hard stuff.  This expresses trust and opens the door  for His good … Read entire article »

  Martin Luther—writing in German of course—created a “haustafel” (a “table of house rules”) for life among believers.  Of course, the Great Reformer simply repeats what God says.  And what are those “house rules”?  Read on! (Want a PDF version of this?  Just copy this link and paste it into your browser:  http://tiny.cc/qq4d4) Martin Luther’s “Haustafel”:  “Table of House Rules” for Life in the Family of Christ’s Followers 1 Corinthians 7:21-22; Ephesians 5:21—6:9; Colossians 3:18—4:1; Titus 2:4-10; 1 Peter 3:18—3:9 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.  Love them just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having … Read entire article »

Robertson McQuilken (former missionary to Japan, former president of Columbia Bible College, missiologist…) draws a distinction between being a “witness” (which every Christian is commanded to be; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8) and being an “evangelist” (which, it seems, only some Christians are gifted to be; Acts 21:8; 2 Timothy 4:5).  A witness testifies to something he has seen/heard/experienced.  An evangelist is particularly skilled/gifted at bringing people to faith. . This distinction does appear to me to be biblical: compare what the man born blind said (John 9) to what Peter and Paul did throughout the Book of Acts (chs. 2 and 17, for example).  The man born blind didn’t give enough info for anyone to be saved—he simply testified to what he’d experienced.  Peter & Paul, on the other hand, gave air-tight reviews of … Read entire article »

. John the Baptist said to his followers: “Look!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).   Look at how gracious Jesus was when people begin being interested in him.  Jesus didn’t say: “You have to be totally committed.  If you’re not serious, then don’t even start!” No, he simply said, “Come and see.” (John 1:39). . Jesus would say the same thing to us today: “Come and look at me.  If you do, you’ll find something extraordinary that will change your life.” The four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) enable us to “look at Jesus”. … Read entire article »

. I love accomplishment—and I hate it when circumstances or people block my goals.  The result is that believing that God is absolutely sovereign has been a real sticking point for me. . Yesterday Pastor Doug spoke on God’s absolute sovereignty, and during his message I realized why I have this unbiblical attitude: I usually have trouble believing in God’s sovereignty when people make choices which thwart what I was trying to accomplish (ostensibly “for God”). . Then I thought, “But God’s purpose for me is his glory and my holiness—and there is no event, action, or circumstance which is incompatible with the accomplishment of those goals.” . I still don’t like it when life thwart my goals, but I really believe that I’ve solved the intellectual problem I’ve had with believing in God’s sovereignty. … Read entire article »

How would you answer the question, “Specifically, what glorifies God?” Tonight at bedtime, could you answer the question: “Did I glorify God today?” Unless we know what the Bible says glorifies God, how can we know if we’ve done it?   A study of two Greek words (doxa, “glory” and doxazō, “glorify”) tells us exactly what glorifies God. When you look at all 202 occurrences of these words, you discover five things we can do which glorify God: 1. Speaking of God’s power/awesomeness and righteousness/justice glorifies God (Matthew 9:8; 15:31; Mark 2:12; Luke 2:20; 5:25-26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15-18; 18:43; John 7:18; Acts 4:21; 11:18; 12:23; 13:48; 21:20; Romans 4:20; 15:6-9; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Galatians 1:24; Philippians 2:11; 4:20; Hebrews 3:3; 2 Peter 1:17; Revelation 4:9; 11:13; 19:7) 2. Godly living, especially costly obedience and ministry, glorifies God (Matthew 5:16; John 12:28; 13:31-32; 14:13; … Read entire article »

Romans 1:18-25 says something very interesting: The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them…. Even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks… One would expect that this kind of person… would have no religious practices would be entirely “secular” would laugh at those who worship   In fact, we see something quite different happening.  Here’s how our passage concludes: …They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Do you see that? They didn’t stop worshiping—they simply moved their allegiance from the One True God to … Read entire article »

Yesterday I had a wonderful discussion with four of TCC’s remarkable young men.  Ever since the MERGE conference four months ago, they’ve been meeting each week—on their own initiative!—to discuss, grapple with, and apply TCC’s weekly teaching!   It was the high-point of my day (and that’s saying a lot, since that morning I’d been on the lake in my sailboat!).  I wonder, what will God do though those four men over the next five, ten, twenty, fifty years?! … Read entire article »