September 29, 2018 - Suggested Reading Hebrews 10 for Sept 16th s message on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 in our worship service at 9:00 am

“How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

Hebrews 10:29 (NIV)

How do you answer this question.

We see the logic in it - for the new covenant we have God in Christ Jesus is so much greater than the old covenant.

Under the old covenant forgiveness was attained through the blood of animals.

Under the new covenant forgiveness is attained through the blood of Christ.

Under the old covenant the people were required to keep the law themselves.

Under the new covenant we have been given the Spirit who works in our inner person to
fulfill the law.

The logic is flawless, for if under the old covenant a person who rejected the law was condemned to die, then those who reject the law by continually sinning deserve something far worse.

This passage is a warning for those who continue in sin after confessing Christ as their Lord.

I love the end of this passage- for Paul is convinced that we will turn to Christ in faith, 

persevering in our desire for salvation, and receiving the goal of our faith.

We belong to those who have faith and are saved.

Amen- let it be Lord let it be.

September 28, 2018 - Suggested Reading 2 Corinthians 3 for Sept 16th s message on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 in our worship service at 9:00 am

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV)  

Confidence comes from competence.

This is true in all areas of life and especially true in our lives as Christians.

Paul is confident in Christ before God because God has made him competent as a minister of the new covenant. The Corinthian Christians are the proof of his competence in ministering the new covenant. Their faith and their changed lives are evidence of the work of the Spirit within their lives.

Some of us read this and say “good for Paul but I am not required to be competent in the ministry of the new covenant”. 

Would you be willing to consider that every Christian is a minister? 

Would you be willing to consider that every Christian teaches others? 

For sure those who are parents must be able to see themselves in this light!

Are we competent in our ability to teach our children the new covenant?

Have they learned that life comes from surrender to the Spirit, or do they think being a Christian is about following the rules.

To be competent as a minister of the new covenant requires that we live by the Spirit ourselves.

To be competent only happens when we realize our incompetence and ask the Spirit to fill us, to teach us to use us- for it is God who makes us competent.

September 27, 2018 - Suggested Reading Luke 16 for Sept 16th s message on Matthew 6:1-21 in our worship service at 10:45am

“He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”

Luke 16:15 (NIV)

You can’t play games with God.

We can fool people, and we can fool ourselves - but God sees right through us.

The Pharisees had themselves fooled into believing they loved God, and that their wealth was their reward from God for their righteousness. Our Lord Jesus could see their hearts, He knew they loved money and He knew that they placed a high value on the

“rewards” in this life of wealth and easy living.

The parable of the shrewd manager teaches us that money has been given to us to be used to make friends in heaven.

Will I have any friends in heaven?

Have I spent or given any money towards the kingdom of God?

How many friends will I have in heaven?

One, ten, twenty, a hundred, a thousand?

The story of the beggar and the rich man flips up-side down the assumption of the Pharisees that wealth is proof of righteousness in God’s eyes.

The beggar is in heaven, and the rich man is in Hades.

They didn’t accept this, for they didn’t believe Moses and the Prophets, and they don’t believe Jesus now, nor will they believe when Christ rose from the grave.

Faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us is highly valued by God.

Not wealth, homes, food, and lifestyle.

September 27, 2018 - Suggested Reading Acts 5 for Sept 16th s message on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 in our worship service at 9:00 am

“Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

Acts 5:9 (NIV)

For those of us who doubt Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 11:30 that our Lord will judge His people by bringing sickness and death to us, we have been provided by the Holy Spirit with the account of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 and the letters to the churches at Pergamum and Thyatira found in Revelation 2.

None of us like fear, and fear is the enemy of faith.

Yet when it comes to an assembly of Christians, Acts 5 makes it very clear that the fear of the Lord is a church growth catalyst. 

We could only dream that Parkdale would experience the growth described in Acts 5 after this act of judgment by the Lord.

God killed Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit (church) about their gifts of money.

God tells His churches in Revelation 2 that He will bring sickness and death upon those who teach and lead His people into idolatry and sexual sin.

God brings sickness and death upon the Christians in Corinth for their refusal to discern the body of Christ during their observation of communion.

What kind of a God treats His people like this?

A God who saves us from ourselves, who is willing to step into lives, and do whatever it takes to save us and the Christians around us from our sinfulness.

September 26, 2018 - Suggested Reading Malachi 3 for Sept 16th s message on Matthew 6:1-21 in our worship service at 10:45am

“Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.”

Malachi 3:16 (NIV)

May we speak properly about God.

May we speak properly about God in the world, among unbelievers.

May we speak properly about God in our church among believers.

May we speak properly about God in our families, and with our spouses.

May we speak properly about God with our friends in the coffee shop.

May we speak properly about God in our prayer life.

May we speak properly about God in our thought life.

God hears us, and He will write down what we say correctly, as we honour His Name, for the purpose of rewarding us in the future.

September 26, 2018 - Suggested Reading Luke 22 for Sept 16th s message on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 in our worship service at 9:00 am

“And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

Luke 22:15 (NIV)

As we consider Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11 regarding the proper observance of the Lord’s Supper – I thought it would be good for us to read one of the gospel accounts of the Last Supper. The first thing I noticed was that Judas was present, and that our Lord acknowledged his presence, and that the disciples questioned among themselves who Jesus was speaking of. In one of J Vernon McGee’s old radio broadcasts - he tells pastors that we should expect what our Lord experienced in His ministry, that a wise pastor counts the flock, divides that number by 12 and that is how many devils are in the congregation. Not sure if J Vernon is speaking truth in this, but for sure we should not be surprised at the presence in our congregations of Judases, and it should be part of a church’s practices to have leaders examine leaders on a regular basis.

 The next thing I noticed was our Lord’s eagerness eat with His men. It wasn’t that He was hungry, it seems to be a sense that He is ready to give Himself as spiritual food for us. He was eager to die for the sins of all these men, including Judas, to offer that sacrifice that makes us clean before God and restores our souls. He was eager to set a table for us in the presence of our enemies, to overflow our cups with grace.

When we find ourselves looking forward to communion Sundays in Parkdale, we are reflecting our Lord’s eagerness to share Himself with all of us.

September 25, 2018 - Suggested Reading 1 Kings 18 for Sept 16th s message on Matthew 6:1-21 in our worship service at 10:45am

“So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.”

1 Kings 18:28 (NIV)

Our Lord tells us not to think we will be only heard in prayer by uttering many
words like the pagans do.

This account of the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, illustrates for us the custom of pagans. They shouted, they danced and they cut themselves, all because they believe that their god wasn’t paying attention to them.

Our God is different than this false gods, He is our heavenly Father and His attention is on us.

He knows what we need before we ask.

The situation we are in right now is under His loving control.

He knows what we need.

Let us quietly and humbly acknowledge His Presence and His Sovereignty over our situation, and ask Him for what we need today.