It’s Only A Sermon Away

What is one of the reasons why people don’t go to church? It is that the preaching is so lifeless. Even the idea conjured up by the word ‘sermon’ involves something tedious or mind-numbing.

So pastors have to get back to the simple source for spiritual life in their churches, that is seeking the Spirit of Christ in their preaching.  Calvin made the point clearly:

As long as the law is preached by the external voice of man, and not inscribed by the finger and Spirit of God on the heart, it is but a dead letter, and as it were a lifeless thing (1)

But then the same applies to the hearer. Are you seeking Christ, so that the Spirit can awaken life within you? More than that, the Spirit can create new life within you, causing you to be born ‘from above’.

It is the great untried opportunity of this age. Yet it’s only a sermon away.

(1) John Calvin , Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 297.

Why You Should Attend the Calvary Grace Conference

One of the things that happens when you do something for a while is that you start to de-prioritize it. When life is busy, the things that used to be special become commonplace. As the old saying goes, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’.
 

Same Old, Same Old

 
That can happen at church very easily. The same preaching. The same singing. The same arrangement of people in the pews. What was special and precious becomes common and even forgettable. Same old, same old.
 

Your First Love

Now we know that the church is not a social club, so our enjoyment and prioritizing of the church is rooted in something much more important—our love for Jesus. If we lose our ‘first love’ (Rev 2.4), then we will certainly lose our love for the church. But as we grow in our love for Jesus, we will love what he loves— the congregation of smelly, stubborn sheep( cf. John 10.11).
 

Conferences as Intense Spiritual Opportunities

 
The same is even true for specific things like conferences. A conference is an opportunity to have intensive focus on God’s word and his ways in fellowship with other people. A conference can provide a special season of growing in the Lord. This is the reason that I have wanted Calvary Grace to host a conference. It adds an annual time of intense spiritual opportunity for spiritual growth.
 

Conferences as Services to the Church

 
But there is also another reason. Conferences give a host church the opportunity to minister to other Christians (and even non-Christians) who might not enjoy very many spiritual growth opportunities. It is a chance to meet other brothers and sisters in Christ. And it is a way to stoke each others’ spiritual fires through mutual listening, sharing and serving.
 

The Powerful Relevance of Holiness

 
Maybe you’re thinking that, ‘I’ve heard all of these speakers before. There’s nobody new’. Well that’s true. But the topic of Holiness is so critical for our generation, that the content of the messages will certainly be powerfully relevant to your Christian life. Don’t let familiarity lead to contempt. Rather let prayer lead to expectancy.
 

Please pray for this weekend’s conference.

 

Pray for the speakers: Amanda, Christel, Jeff, Paul, Terry, Gavin and myself.
 
Pray for the volunteers in childcare, greeting, sound, setup, book table and more.
 
Pray for the people who will attend; who may not get to hear good teaching on a regular basis, who are starving, looking to be fed.
 
Pray for our Holy God to be glorified in his Triune majesty.
 
Finally, support the Calvary Grace Conference with your presence.
 
Who knows how God will use you this weekend

5 Assessments of Pastors According to Calvin’s Geneva

In the Draft Order of Visitation of the Country Churches January 11, 1546 [1], there are some points made about what to watch for in assessing the ministries of pastors.

1. Doctrinal unity.

The first order of business was to make sure that the pastor maintained, “proper uniformity of doctrine in the whole body of the Church of Geneva.” This was done by having two Genevan pastors visit the country churches in order to, “enquire whether the Ministry of the place have accepted any doctrine in any sense new and repugnant to the purity of the gospel.” So the churches weren’t little labs where pastors could exercise their speculative experiments. They were expected to be fairly conservative, that is, unchanging in their doctrine.

2. Wise Application

Not only was the doctrine to be in line with the other Genevan churches, there was an expectation that the minister would preach with wise applications. He wasn’t to preach, “anything at all scandalous, or unfitting to the instruction of the people because it is obscure, or treats of superfluous questions, or exercises too great rigour.” In applying his expositions, the pastor wasn’t grinding axes or riding hobby-horses. How many ‘Calvinist’ pastors today are guilty of ‘exercising too much rigour’.

3. Congregational Support

The pastor wasn’t the only one who was held accountable. The congregation was urged to be diligent not only in attending church services, but “to have a liking for it, and to find profit in it for Christian living.”  Many congregations need to be reminded of their responsibility to support the pastor’s ministry, and to like it.

4. Pastoral Care

Pastors were supposed to be engaged in ministry outside of the pulpit, through visitation of the sick and counselling. Specifically pastors were to confront those who needed it, as well as applying counsel to prevent patterns of sin.

5. Pastoral Integrity

The last element that was examined was whether the pastor had a testimony marked by integrity.  Basically, did the pastor live as an example to others, leading “an honest life”? Also, the pastor’s reputation was checked to see if people viewed areas of his life as lacking self control (“dissoluteness”) or being flaky (“frivolity”). Finally,the pastor needed to have a harmonious relationship to the congregation. And above all of these he needed to have his family life in order.

These priorities are quite basic. But how often do pastors fail to maintain these basic emphases? May God grant us mercy to fulfill our duties.

[1] JKS Reid, Calvin: Theological Treatises, (SCM Press, 1954), 74