On the death of little Molly

Dear flock,

 

The picture above is of little Molly, a precious little one year old, the day before she drowned in a pool. Her mother Charissa was part of the youth group at Grace Bible Church years ago when my own kids were teens. They all hung out together, went to student conferences together, and had youth parties at our home. At the time, none of them ever dreamed that such unspeakable tragedy could ever enter their lives. Charissa and her husband Jordan are solid Christ-followers, as well as their families. Grandma Cathy wrote the piece below. Read it and weep with those who weep, and pray.

--Pastor Doug

 

The Crucible of Pain and Suffering

Before the loss of Molly, I had been undergoing a mini trial (because everything seems mini after this), and a couple times I'd prayed, "Lord, change me!" I was almost afraid to pray that way because of what it might yield.

And then Molly happened. And the grief and anguish of soul served to undo us. But God has been here. Jesus has cried with us. And we are all changing. In small ways He has opened our eyes to problem areas in our lives. My precious Gene, who prefers to live a quiet and private existence, wrote a letter to all the staff where he teaches. He talked about Molly, but he shared our hope in Jesus. He would have preferred to remain under the radar, but he felt compelled to be public with his heartbreak, and invite the staff to the service. One teacher wrote that they would be there. Others, who don't know Jesus, wrote that Gene's faith would help him. A door of witness has opened because Molly's death has allowed opportunities to share Jesus. Her little life is a beacon of hope and light. How we miss her! But we are praying many will be brought to Jesus because of what has happened.

Our church has been changed. Trials have that effect. Our local church body is growing stronger in prayer and encouragement.

We have heard of some who've not yet been drawn to Jesus make reference to the faith we have in God. Our faith is a gift from our glorious God, outside of ourselves. We can't muster it up on our own.

We've been privileged to share Jesus with those who were by our side on the day of Molly's home going. Several in our family (and close friends) baked lots of sweet treats, and, yesterday, took them to the staff at the hospital where Molly was treated, and to the police dept who responded. The treats were accompanied by thank you notes with the message of the Gospel, and an invite to the service.

We keep going back to the well where unlimited grace and mercy can be had. And we are finding help--so much more than we knew possible--is there. And we are forever changed. It's not the script I would have written, but I'm not in charge. A life of mediocrity will not do. Part of me is afraid of what might happen next, but I continue to be bolstered by Jordan and Charissa. And I think of verses that pop in my head about what Jesus did for us, and how our suffering is but a microcosm of what He endured.

Lastly, we have the hope that He'll lead us safely home. And that makes this present life more doable.

What follows is an excerpt from my darling husband's letter to the staff. I hope you find encouragement from what he's written.

 

"Our family has been devastated by this loss, and yet without despair. We’ve been comforted by the overwhelming love of extended family, church community, and others, many in far-flung places, who have surrounded us with their presence, tangible kindnesses, and prayers. We rest on the promises of God, and the words that will be etched on Molly’s grave marker, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die (John 11:25-26).' We long to see her again."

The day PD rebuked R.C.

For those of you who were in our Sunday School class last Lord's Day, you might have been a bit startled when I, your gentle Pastor, blurted out right in the middle of a video by R.C. Sproul--

"WRONG!"

I'll admit, I startled myself.

R.C. Sproul is one of my spiritual mentors. I owe him a debt of gratitude I could never repay. He was speaking about sinning against God and was using tithing as an example. He said that Christians who don't tithe are robbing God. This is when I (loudly) voiced my adamant disapproval. I couldn't risk some poor souls suffering a wounded conscience until the video was over. He was wrong. New Covenant believers are not commanded to tithe. And our flock needs to know this.

Of course this brings up the larger context and question of whether Christians are under any of the Law of Moses. Again, the answer is NO!, as is clearly taught in the New Testament. Rather than go into detail in this blog I would urge you to read an excellent article by Thomas Schreiner, a professor at Southern Seminary on "7 Reasons Christians Are Not Commanded to Tithe." He also addresses (briefly) the issue of the New Covenant believer's relationship to the Law of Moses. You can read it below--

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/7-reasons-christians-not-required-to-tithe

Pastor Doug

Shack Attack

I really don’t like laying down ‘do’s and don’ts’ about the movies Christians should or shouldn’t see. Better to teach biblical principles and allow believers to make their own decisions out of faith and conscience. But as a shepherd, I need to warn the flock about a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s “The Shack,” an uber-best-selling book that is now out at the movies.

Many Christians have written about the heretical views behind the book, but still, some baby believers or bored Christians looking for entertainment sans sex and gore, might still head to the theatres to see The Shack.

The most obvious problem that many Christians have already pointed out is that the movie portrays within the Trinity, a woman as the Father, and a black woman as the Holy Spirit. Ah, diversity! Yes, this is a problem – not because the Holy Spirit is black or a woman – He is a Spirit and has no color, let alone gender! But it’s a problem because as I have often said, the Second Commandment properly understood prohibits the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit from being represented in any physical form – including by an actor or actress. Yes, I just torpedoes all Jesus movies, and even pictures of Jesus in children’s books. We need to remember that God gave us a word-Book, not a picture-Book.

And yes, it is a problem that God is deliberately portrayed as a woman when the Scriptures consistently call Him, “Father.” But the theology in the background of this movie is not just weak, it is deliberately anti-Christian. Of course the author of the book, Paul Young, could always wiggle out of such criticisms by saying that this is just a story, it uses metaphors. It’s narrative, after all, not doctrine.

That was until his new book was released which shows in bold color what Young’s theology really is, and it is utter heresy. At this point let me point you to the great article by Tim Challies that explains what is in this book. But don’t click the link until you finish reading my article—

 http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/what-does-the-shack-really-teach-read-lies-we-believe-about-god

As Challies points out, the centerpiece of Young’s heretical views is universalism. Young believes, contrary to everything the Bible teaches, that at some point every person will be saved, if not before they die, God will use the fires of hell to purge away (not punish, mind you) any unbelief. Even Satan and his fallen angels will be restored to a right relationship with God. Young believes that after death there is a second chance, and more than that, a complete inevitability, that all people will eventually repent and come to full relationship with God.

Here is the point: this doctrine of demons lies at the very heart of the book and movie. Young believes that man is basically good, God is not sovereign, Jesus did not die to remove sins, and everyone is already in Christ and just needs to believe that it’s so. These lies permeate the movie. They aren’t in the background but in the forefront.

But can’t a Christian just see the movie for some innocent entertainment? Well in addition to helping to finance this heretical hot-mess, we need to wise up: none of us are beyond being subtly influenced by the theology it presents. Wrong worldviews can seep into our thinking while we are merrily munching our popcorn. It’s not without reason that Paul warned the Christians in Rome:

“. . . I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.” (Romans 16:19)

So don’t waste your time or your money on this turkey.

Besides, Rotten Tomatoes only gave it one star.

-Pastor Doug

A message from Pastor Doug

Dear flock, 

For those who missed our Annual Meeting last Sunday evening, we were so encouraged to hear the reports of how God has blessed our church and used our church in this last year. So much ministry goes on here, and so much ministry goes out from here, all around the world. Last year, you gave almost $40,000 to support our missionaries and other ministries, locally and globally. We heard how we were able to help our own church family through our benevolent fund, about the ministry of our precious ladies in ‘The Widow’s Might,’ and our privilege of helping Hope City rebuild homes lost in the Valley and Clayton fires. We just committed $80K to Hope City out of our fire fund. What an amazing blessing. 

And we also heard that last year’s giving was $40K short of what we budgeted. This is due to many factors. Some folks moved away after the fire, and others have retired and re-located. Others have had situations that impact their ability to give. These things happen in the life of a church, and we’re not discouraged or despairing. But this is a time of re-building for our church family, and we are trusting God to bring us new growth and meet our needs.  

The Elders made the decision to cut $20 from last year’s budget. And now we are asking all of you in our church family to prayerfully consider your own stewardship in this ministry God has given us here at MBC. We are asking you to consider increasing your monthly giving by 10-15%. If we are all able to do this, or more, we should be able to meet this year’s budget.  

And I would encourage you to think about using the online giving on our phone app. I’m using it myself and it’s pretty cool. It’s easy to set up and you don’t have to worry about forgetting your offering. And then when we take up the Sunday offering – you can just chill! The info on how to set up online giving is on our website and on the phone app. 

Please, let’s all pray and see what God does. We are in an exciting time because we know that our heavenly Father is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” So we say with Paul: “To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-2).  

Pastor Doug

The church is not a hospital.

I wanted to pass along this really insightful quote from Dale Partridge:

 

Yesterday, I heard a Christian say, “The church is a hospital for sick people.” I couldn’t disagree more. The church isn’t a hospital, the church is a medical school. It’s where we learn how to heal the world. Many of today’s Christians are walking in curable diseases. They are so busy needing help, they can’t help others. The Bible says, “Lay aside the sin that so easily entangles you” and “you are more than conquerors.” Christian, you are not a victim to sin, but a victor over it. Christian I know it’s easy to walk in each Sunday, grab a stretcher and wait for your pastor’s message to heal you, but that’s not God’s purpose for His meeting. God’s purpose is train up men and women to do the work of the ministry. The world is our hospital. It’s waiting for you to bring the Gospel. It’s waiting for you to disciple lost sheep. It’s waiting for you to be healthy, the question is, are you walking strong, or wallowing in your sickness?” Dale Partridge

Redemption through Incarnation

An excerpt from this morning's sermon: "Redemption Through the Son" (Ephesians 1:7-10)

 

There is no redemption without Incarnation because only a blood-relative could be our kinsman-redeemer and pay the price to get us out of hock and out of jail. That’s why Jesus was born as a little human baby in Bethlehem.

It was 25 years ago that 16 year old Anissa Ayala found lumps on her ankles and began having severe stomach pains. Her parents took her to the hospital and she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. If she couldn’t get a bone marrow transplant she would die. Her older brother wasn’t a match, her parents weren’t a match. Others were tested, but no match.

So her parents made a huge decision: they decided to try and conceive a child who might be a match for Anissa. Mary Ayala was already 42 years old – so her odds of a successful pregnancy were only 40%. Abe Ayala had to have his vasectomy reversed, and even if they could conceive, there was only a 23% chance that the baby would be a match. And they got all sorts of criticism and hate mail for what they were doing. But for the sake of their daughter, they did it. Little Marissa was born in 1990, and she was a match. 14 months later, they fed her marrow into sister Anissa’s veins, and her cancer was completely cured. Today, Anissa and Marissa are best friends.

Marissa said about her sister, Anissa. “Without her and her sickness, I wouldn’t be here. And if I hadn’t been born, she wouldn’t be here.”

She was born because of her sister’s terminal disease, so that her sister might live.

We are all born with a terminal disease – literally. It’s in our blood from our father Adam, and it’s sin. It’s killing us from the inside out from the day we are born. We needed a cure for our disease – blood atonement – but there was no match. We needed a blood-relative. So God decided to bring His own Son into the world to be our kinsman-redeemer. What a sacrifice for the Son, yes, but what a sacrifice for His Father. So Jesus came, and He was a perfect match for us because He’s a real human being, just like us. He could pay the price to redeem us because He is God and had no sin. Jesus was born as a little baby so that He might give His blood, so that we might live forever. We have redemption because of Incarnation.  Isn’t that Christmas?

Abba Father

And because you are sons,

God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,

crying, “Abba! Father!”

Galatians 4:6

 

I’ve been a Christian now for almost 45 years, and I’ve read this passage hundreds of times., I’ve taught it in seminary and preached it from the pulpit. But God spoke it to my own heart it at a dark, low, sad time in my life. I cried out, “Abba, Father!” And I talked to my Father as His child.

I had always read this as describing the joyful, exuberant cry of a Christian who grasps his sonship, is overwhelmed with excitement that God is his Father, and so he comes into the Father’s presence with his head held high, shouting out, “Abba! Father!” But maybe Paul was describing just what I was going through: a child of God feeling weak, spiritually depleted and helpless—but at that moment, still knowing that I could cry out “Abba, Father!” and my Father would be there for me, and hear me, and love me.

That’s when Jesus cried out to His Abba Father.

It was at the darkest lowest moment of His life. He was on His knees, face on the ground, sweating drops of blood as He looked ahead to the physical torture, and emotional abandonment of the cross. But He knew that His Abba Father was there. He could go to Him, He could pour out His broken heart, He could even ask Him if the cup could pass Him by. At that moment the Holy Spirit was flooding Jesus with assurance that He was the beloved Son of God, and He could cry out to His Father.

So that’s the way I read this passage now, not so much as the joyful cry of a Christian on a sun-shiny day, but as the whimpering cry of a child of God on a dark, terrible night who knows that His Father is there for him.

Our 4 kids are grown now, but during the years that we were raising our 4 kids, we always left our bedroom door open a crack because we never knew when we might hear, in the middle of the night, “Mom! Dad!” When Rachel was in high school she came down with a severe bone infection that put her in the hospital for two weeks. She was so sick. And when she came home from the hospital I remember in the middle of the night, hearing that faint cry. I would fly into her room—my feet hardly touched the floor.

How much more our heavenly Father hears our cries. His door is always open, and if you are His child, He is waiting to hear your faintest whimper, in the darkest night: “Abba, Father!” Do you cry out to Him? You can. It’s part of your birthright as a child of God. You can say with the Psalmist in Ps. 116:1,2: “I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live!”