Pastor's Perspective
Ligon Duncan

December 5, 2008

We have just enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday (our church’s annual Thanksgiving Day service, Jeremy’s message and the testimonies were a great blessing to me, and so many of you have mentioned they were to you, as well) and are entering a season of the year in which our hearts and minds are turned to the mysterious and gracious gift of God to His people: the incarnate Savior. We will do well to carry on throughout this time in a spirit of conscious, deliberate thanksgiving.

This is easier for some than others because of our circumstances. For some, this has been a hard year, and it will be a hard holiday season to traverse. There are those in our congregation who have suffered profound bereavements, or who have lost the fruits of a lifetime of labors, or who face difficult family situations, or who are intensely lonely. These circumstances, and a thousand more, will challenge the spirit of thanksgiving in our hearts.

On the other hand, for others of us, this year may have been the occasion of treasured memories and joyous blessings. But even for those who are rejoicing and content, there is the danger of complacency: will we take God’s blessings for granted? How, then, do we find and keep a spirit of thanksgiving in our hearts?

In the first place, we need to remind ourselves that a heart of thanksgiving is not dependent on abundance and not made impossible by want. It is conceivable that someone could be greatly blessed in temporal things and yet be very ungrateful. On the other hand, one could cope with the barest of provision with joy in one’s heart (this is one of the points of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the contrast being provided by Scrooge and Cratchit). And so, the secret of thankfulness is not to be found in our material prosperity.

Nor is gratitude generated merely by the presence of other favorable circumstances in our lives. We all know people who have been blessed with health, and family, and friends, and vocation, and yet do not manifest an attitude of appreciation to the Lord for their pleasant situation. On the other hand, we have witnessed with our own eyes (often with sheer amazement in our hearts) friends here at First Presbyterian who endure the most daunting and depressing and dark circumstances in their lives with grace and gratitude in their hearts.

What, then, is the secret of thankfulness? It is summed up in Paul’s words in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” The first part of this verse reminds us of God’s magnificent grace. The second part argues that, if God’s grace has been extravagant (and it has!), then His provision for us will be just as rich. God’s grace realized in our hearts begets gratitude. It also begets trust in the essential goodness of God’s provision, which, in turn, brings forth a spirit of thankfulness for all that God provides (and even for what He in His wisdom determines not to provide).

When we realize that we deserve condemnation and simultaneously grasp that God has shown us grace, the seed of thanksgiving is sown in our hearts. Then, when we realize what the Lord has done to save us from sin, it begins to dawn on us (in light of passages like Romans 8:32) that—if He would give a gift as costly as His Son to save us—surely He would hold back nothing that we need in His providence. This, again, produces an ability to be thankful in every circumstance and condition because we know that that circumstance or condition has been chosen for us by a God who loves us infinitely and cares for us better than we could ever care for ourselves.

Now that’s something to be thankful for.

October 10, 2008

 Last Sunday morning we considered the questions: What are deacons? And What do deacons do? As you prepare to begin voting for new deacons this Sunday, perhaps you will want to meditate on the answers we found in the Bible.
    We learned that deacons desire to serve, rather than merely aspiring to a status. They genuinely want to serve, and especially to show – concretely and tangibly – the love of Christ in the body of believers. (1 Tim 3:10, 13). Thus, the office of the deacon is not that of an elder-in-training, nor of a candidate for the priesthood, but an important office of service in its own right. We want to elect men to the Diaconate who exude a desire to serve the flock in the ministry of tangible care, help, aid and relief.
    We also learned that deacons are godly, self-controlled, Christian men, qualified by their (1) desire to serve, (2) their embrace of the faith and (3) their proven character (1 Tim 3:8-10,12-13). So, their three qualifications are: desire to serve, orthodoxy, moral character. So, we want to elect men to the Diaconate who possess all three qualifications: desire for service, commitment to the truth, and Christian character.
    Finally, in thinking about what deacons do, we found that deacons, as living examples of Christ’s love, command and lead the congregation in service, helping the church to demonstrate the love of Christ tangibly (John 13:34; Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37, 6:1-7). We said that, according to Jesus, there is no such thing as deedless love. Love works. Real Christian love, Gospel love is always made tangible in our and by our actions. Therefore, the love Jesus enjoins upon the church must be practical and tangible, even to the point of meeting physical needs.
    That is why Christian life and love must be in word and deed, neither must be neglected, so it is for the church’s well-being to have both elders and deacons (see Acts 6:7). The deacons’ work is to complement the elders’ ministry of the word. The deacon is to lead in the local congregation’s ministry of aid and relief; his is an office of service and deed (1 Tim 3:10,13). He is to be the servant, par excellence in the local church. Thus, the deacon is to model, he is to be a living example of the self-giving, tangible, love of Christ to His people. As the Apostle John says, (in 1 John 3:18) “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”
    For further reflection, consider what our PCA Book of Church Order says about deacons:
9-1. The office of deacon is set forth in the Scriptures as ordinary and perpetual in the Church. The office is one of sympathy and service, after the example of the Lord Jesus; it expresses also the communion of saints, especially in their helping one another in time of need.
9-2. It is the duty of the deacons to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress. It is their duty also to develop the grace of liberality in the members of the church, to devise effective methods of collecting the gifts of the people, and to distribute these gifts among the objects to which they are contributed. They shall have the care of the property of the congregation, both real and personal, and shall keep in proper repair the church edifice and other buildings belonging to the congregation. In matters of special importance affecting the property of the church, they cannot take final action without the approval of the Session and consent of the congregation. In the discharge of their duties the deacons are under the supervision and authority of the Session.
9-3. To the office of deacon, which is spiritual in nature, shall be chosen men of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly spirit, warm sympathies, and sound judgment.
    The BCO concludes by saying that the deacons will engage in “caring for the sick, the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, and others who may be in any distress or need.”
May the Lord give us such deacons!

August 29, 2008
As we all watch the drama in  Washington and in the markets, and hold our collective breath, wondering what is coming next, it would be wise for us to think about how our Christian faith and biblical belief informs our response to these uncertain times. John Piper has said: “so few people in our world see the main truth about life—namely, that all things have to do with God. They only see things and events and humans. They don’t see the main reality—God. Who exalts the supremacy of God in their paychecks, in the stock market (up or down), in their year-end bonuses? Hardly anyone. That is why we exist—to exult in God’s invisible hand in it all and to spread a passion for that supremacy in all things—all things. Riches and honor come from God.” Did you catch that? We exist, in a world that exults in self-supremacy, to declare with our lips and lives, our priorities and paychecks, that everything comes from God and that everything belongs to God and that he is more important to us than anything in this world. We have a chance to bear witness that we really believe this, no matter what the markets do. Think about that.

    Well, our elder election process has come close to its conclusion (we anticipate the final vote on Sunday), and the election of deacons is only a week or so away. So far, we have elected nine new elders: James S. Armstrong, Jr.; Robert A. Cunningham; Thomas David Elkin; Kenneth G. Fairly; Samuel D. Hensley; Richard C. Russ; Mark A. Sorgenfrei; Tian C. Teh; and Ward B. Toler.

    Next Sunday morning, we will vote for one (1) of these two men – W. Harper Keeler and F. Earl Fyke III. Continue to pray: for the election process, for our new elders, for all the outstanding men who stood for office and for the future of our congregation. Also, please study closely the booklet that we have distributed about our deacon candidates. We will have the privilege of electing 25 of them to the work of the diaconate. Study up now. Get to know these men.

    A quick word about the Fall Preaching Schedule for Sunday mornings at First. This coming Sunday, in anticipation of our beginning the deacon elections on October 12, I’ll be preaching on Acts 6:1-7 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13, “What Deacons Are and Do.” Then, on October 12, we will have our first ever Evangelism Conference, with David Robertson preaching, morning and evening. The following Sunday, October 19, we are back to the Psalms – Psalm 102 “A Prayer in Affliction”
(I cannot stress how powerful and timely this psalm is for our congregation). Then, just in time for the Lord’s Supper, on October 26, it’s Psalm 103, “Compassionate and Gracious.”

    Our annual stewardship commitment Sunday is November 2, and this year the committee has chosen 2 Cor. 9:7b-9 as our theme-verses. My message will be called “Cheerful?” Then Derek will preach on Sunday November 9, while I am preaching for our sister congregation in Memphis, Riveroaks. The next Sunday, November 16, we are back in the fourth book of the psalms with Psalm 105, “He Remembers His Covenant” – perfect for baptism Sunday. Then, on November 23, just in time for Thanksgiving week, it’s Psalm 104 “The Eyes of All Hope in Thee.” Finally, we close out the month on Sunday, November 30, with the final psalm of the fourth book – Psalm 106, “Our Story.”

            One last thing, please don’t fail to take the confidential Membership Survey this Sunday, October 5, if you haven’t already. We need everyone to take the 10-15 minutes to complete the survey. We have made it as easy as we can, but we need your commitment to make the effort to fully participate. This is one important opportunity for all of us to contribute to the future direction of our church. You can come to Lowe Hall to take the survey at some point during the morning (before a service, after a service, at the beginning of Sunday school, etc.). Lowe Hall will be open from 8:00-12:30 and again from 5:00-6:00. I would strongly encourage you to plan and take the survey at this location.

August 29, 2008

In just over a week, on Sunday morning, September 7, 2008, after both morning services, we will begin voting on new elders. As we pray toward that date, and as we reflect on how we will vote, we should ask ourselves the question, over and over again: “What kind of elders does the Bible say we need?” We’ve thought about this a little in the last two columns. Here’s what we’ve found, in sum.

    First, we need elders who want the work, not just the status of an elder.1 Timothy 3:1 says “If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

    Second, we need elders who are godly men – character/godliness/holiness is God’s great qualification for an elder. 1 Timothy 3:2-3 says: “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.”

    Third, we need elders who are able to teach, that is, who are able to convey God’s truth to disciples. 1 Timothy 3:2 says: “An overseer, then, must be . . . able to teach,” and Titus 1:9 says: an elder must be “able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”

    Fourth, we need elders with godly homes and families, and who are aiming for godly homes and families. 1 Timothy 3:4-5 says: “He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?).”

    Fifth, we need elders who are spiritually mature and not recent converts (they are “old” in the faith, though not necessarily chronologically). 1 Timothy 3:6 says “And not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

    Sixth, we need elders whose moral reputation is good with local non-Christians (and in our day and time, we could add, with other churches’ members as well). 1 Timothy 3:7 says: “And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

    In light of this, you may be interested to know some of the questions we asked your elder candidates to both ask and answer about themselves in the course of their officer training.

I. In the Area of Personal Piety
1. Do you know God? Is your trust in Christ? Is your life God-centered and grace-based?
2. Do you have a passion for the Cross of Christ? Is your joy in Jesus’ fame?
3. Do you treasure the truth of God’s Word and understand and cherish His means of grace?

II. In the Area of Support of the Ministry of the Church
1. Will you faithfully attend the worship services of the Church (Sunday morning and evening)?
2. Will you regularly attend Sunday School and Wednesday night?
3. Will you attend the regular meetings of the Board of Officers on which you serve?

III. In the Area of Stewardship
1. Do you believe in tithing and make a sincere effort to do so?
2. Will you support the church budget and missions?
3. Will you give of your time as needed to carry on the leadership of the church?

IV. In the Area of Cooperation
1. Are you in good relations with the church and its members?
2. Are you in good relations with the other officers?
3. Are you in good relations with the Senior Minister and Ministerial Staff?

V. In the Area of Seeking the Purity, Peace and Unity of the Church
1. Will you promote the peace and unity of the church and seek to check murmuring and complaining?
2. Can you engage with your fellow officers humbly, face them frankly, deal with them fairly, and then stand loyally with the majority in their decision?
3. Can you answer the questions in the Book of Church Order paragraph 24-5 in the affirmative?

VI. In the Area of Family Life
1. Do you have any serious domestic troubles?
2. Do you and your wife know how to hold your tongue against needlessly spreading gossip or talking critically about others?
3. Are you involved in financial difficulties that might hinder your service to the church?
4. Do you make an effort at having family worship?
5. Do you control your own household as called for in 1Timothy 3:4, 5?

VII. In the Area of Social Life
1. Have you seriously considered the admonitions in Scripture about the dangers of being a stumbling block and the need for specific caution and exemplary conduct in every area for Church Officers?
2. To the best of your ability, will you keep the Lord’s Day above reproach?
Pray with me that the Lord would give us elders who meet the scriptural qualifications and who want to shepherd the flock of God, which He purcha

August 22, 2008
I mentioned last week that on Sunday morning, September 7, 2008, after both morning services, we will begin voting on new elders. As we pray toward that date, and as we reflect on how we will vote, we should ask ourselves the question, over and over again: “What kind of elders does the Bible say we need?” We started thinking about it in last week’s column, where we noted these things:

First, we need elders who want the work, not just the status of an elder. Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 3:1 that the work of the eldership (which is pastoral work) is a wonderful work to which to aspire. He says “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

Second, we need elders who are godly men. For character, godliness, holiness are God’s great qualifications for an elder. In 1 Timothy 3:2-3, Paul says: “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.”

Third, we need elders who are able to teach, that is, who are able to convey God’s truth to disciples. The one gift qualification Paul lists is that elders be able to teach. He says in 1 Timothy 3:2 “An overseer, then, must be . . . able to teach.” Paul singles out but one responsibility: teaching. The elder must be able to teach. Titus 1:9 – “able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” He’s got to know the Bible, the Gospel and basic Christian theology well enough to explain and defend it.
     Isn’t it interesting, Paul does not require that they have first order leadership skills. He does not require that they come from a particular social or professional class. He does not require that they be men of prominence in the community. He requires that they be able to disciple. The only particular gift-abilities of an elder recorded by Paul are: (1) Able to teach (1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17; Tit. 1:9) and (2) Keeps hold of the deep truths (Titus 1:7). That is, he is to be orthodox in his theology in order to both teach and defend the truth. The elder is a man focused on (three things) teaching the Faith, living the faith and shepherding the flock. It makes sense that a class of men called to disciple the church and the nations, would need to be able to teach. This doesn’t mean that every elder must be great behind a podium, but every elder does need to be competent for and good at some form of teaching. You want to elect elders who not only want to teach, but who are able to teach the faith.

Fourth, we need elders with godly homes and families, and who are aiming for godly homes and families. Paul says of the elder in 1 Timothy 3:4-5 “He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?).” Here Paul focuses upon what we might call family headship character qualities. He has already addressed marital fidelity, and now he adds that the elder is to be a “good manager of his own family” and that he “has obedient children.” This means that their overall behavior is a general gauge of his maturity, attitude, values and parenting. As far as Paul is concerned, godliness in the church begins in the home. Discipleship in the church begins in the home. You want to elect elders whose home life and values accredit his fitness as a shepherd and reflect his commitment to Christian discipleship.
 

Fifth, we need elders who are spiritually mature and not recent converts (they are “old” in the faith, though not necessarily chronologically). Paul teaches us that elders must be mature in the faith, in view of the unique pressures and temptations they face: “and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6). No absolute time-frame is specified, but the principle is self-evident. A neophyte is uniquely susceptible to pride and should not be elected to this work. This requirement of Paul shows that doctrine and spiritual maturity must go hand in hand in the leadership of the church. You want to elect elders to whom you can confidently submit to their spiritual oversight, and that means mature men.
 

Sixth, we need elders whose moral reputation is good with local non-Christians (and in our day and time, we could add, with other churches’ members as well). Paul makes it clear that elders are to be men of integrity, even and especially in the eyes of the non-church community, when he says: “And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:7). Paul expects elders to be respectable (see 2) not only to those within the church, but also in the estimation of those without it. The officers of the church have a witness. It is either positive or negative. Paul demands that elders not be a reproach to Christ. An elder is a Christian man possessed of evident godly character (basic Christian character reflective of conversion, sanctification, spiritual growth and maturity (e.g., the Beatitudes) and the other character qualities required here by Paul. You want to elect elders who will enhance and not embarrass the church’s witness to the watching world.

You may want to think and pray through this list as you prepare for the election.

August 15, 2008
On Sunday morning, September 7, 2008, after both morning services, we will begin voting on new elders. The congregation will have the privilege of electing ten new shepherds to serve this church. The Sunday before (August 31), I will preach on the biblical qualifications for the eldership. In that message, I will be asking (and answering from Scripture, especially 1 Timothy 3:1-7) the question: “What kind of elders do we need?” For the next several weeks, in this column, I’m going to be reflecting on that question. Perhaps you will want to pray through this list as you consider how to vote.
    First, we need elders who want the work, not just the status of an elder. Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 3:1 that the work of the eldership (which is pastoral work) is a wonderful work to which to aspire; he says, “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.” Paul makes it abundantly clear here that an elder is fundamentally a pastor, a shepherd of souls! He calls him an overseer or bishop or shepherd. Paul is saying here that one who seeks the eldership, that is the pastoral office, desires to be engaged in what is emphatically a good thing. But note also that he speaks of the eldership as a noble work or task, rather than a noble office. It is about service not status. So, you want to elect men who long to do the spiritual work of an elder, not just who aspire to the status. These will be men who love the Bible. They love Christ. They love the Gospel. They are men of prayer. They are faithful in church attendance (Sunday morning and evening). They are generous givers to the church. They are enthusiastic about seeing people converted and helping Christians grow in grace, and they long to spiritually disciple the people of the congregation. They see the work of the elder as fundamentally the ministry of the Word and prayer, and they desire to devote themselves precisely to that.
    Second, we need elders who are godly men. Character, godliness, and holiness are God’s great qualifications for an elder. In 1 Timothy 3:2-3, Paul says: “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.” Such an important work requires corresponding life and character, says Paul here. So, the qualifications of this office are not found in social standing or even extraordinary talents or intelligence, but rather in godly character.

    Paul lays out eleven character qualities (positive and negative) for an elder. He is:
(1) above reproach – that is, he is free from scandalous sins and offensive habits that would lay him open to serious public criticism;
(2) the husband of one wife – that is, a man marked by the strictest marital fidelity, his marriage is biblical, monogamous, and sexually pure, and he is not unbiblically divorced;
(3) temperate – that is, sober-minded, possessed of a wakeful, alert, vigilant habit of mind, opposed to all sorts of excess;
(4) prudent – that is, he has mastery over his natural reactions, he is self-controlled (see Titus 1:8);
(5) respectable – that is, he lives a life that bears up under public scrutiny;
(6) hospitable – hospitality is required of all Christians (Romans 12:13) but elders are to take the lead;
(7) not addicted to much wine – that is, free from any enslavement to or fixation with alcohol, drugs, or other addictive stimulants;
(8) not pugnacious – that is, he is not a violent man or given to quarreling; he is not quick tempered; this goes along with being temperate;
(9) gentle – that is, he is meek and humble and thus able to elicit a response of trust, respect and affection from congregation members.
(10) peaceable – that is, he is not quarrelsome in his pattern of speaking (so as to be able to gently instruct – see 2 Timothy 2:24f); and
(11) free from the love of money – that is, he has a mastery over his material appetites, he is storing his treasure in heaven, he is not trying to serve two masters, he is not a money lover or pursuer of dishonest gain. You want to elect men who are godly and
who are very evidently pursuing holiness in their own lives.
    Now, in a congregation of our size, it is going to take effort and initiative on your part to get to know ten (10) men who fulfill these character qualifications and who have a genuine aspiration to be pastor-shepherd-elders. We will be making a booklet of the elder candidates, with pictures and biographies. I’d encourage you to get your copy on Sunday. Read through it. Pray through it. Meet candidates that you don’t know, and get to know them. Ask them questions. Let them give you their testimony of God’s saving grace. Learn about them. Hear testimonials from fellow church members as to their gifts and qualifications.
Well, there are still more qualifications for elders listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 to cover. We’ll continue to study them next week.

 

July 18, 2008

In the wake of our dear Jennifer Stephenson’s death, I was greatly ministered to by the words of my friend John Piper (and, by the way, Paul Stephenson mentioned to me just the other day how challenging and helpful Piper’s writings have been to him – take a look, for instance, at Don’t Waste Your Life and Don’t Waste Your Cancer). Well, Piper wrote just today on his blog over at desiringGod www.desiringgod.org   a little commentary piece called “Why God Doesn’t Fully Explain Pain.” I think you will find it helpful, so I reproduce some of it here:

Dr. Piper says: “One of the reasons God rarely gives micro reasons for his painful providences, but regularly gives magnificent macro reasons, is that there are too many micro reasons for us to manage, namely, millions and millions and millions and millions and millions.

God says things like:
* These bad things happened to you because I intend to work it together for your good (Romans 8).
* These happened so that you would rely more on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1).
* This happened so that the gold and silver of your faith would be refined (1 Peter 1).
* This thorn is so that the power of Christ would be magnified in your weakness  (2 Corinthians 12).

But we can always object that there are other easier ways for God to accomplish those things. We want to know more specifics: Why now? Why this much? Why this often? Why this way? Why these people?

The problem is, we would have to be God to grasp all that God is doing in our problems. In fact, pushing too hard for more detailed explanations from God is a kind of demand that we be God.

. . . God cannot make plain all He is doing, because there are millions and millions and millions and millions of effects of every event in your life, the good and the bad. God guides them all. They all have micro purposes and macro purposes. He cannot tell you all of them because your brain can’t hold all of them.

Trust does not demand more than God has told us. And He has given us immeasurably precious promises that He is in control of all things and only does good to His children. And he has given us a very thick book where we can read story after story after story about how He rules for the good of His people. Let’s trust Him and not ask for what our brains cannot contain.”  John Piper, July 14, 2008, http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog1307_why_god_doesnt_fully_explain_pain/

 
Those words are so helpful, and biblical, and they are equally applicable to any kind of a painful situation that a believer can be in. So, whether you are battling cancer, or chronic pain, or dealing with family struggles, or in a hopeless marriage, or some other painful circumstance – take comfort from this sound, Scriptural counsel.

William Cowper’s great hymn, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” also addresses this struggle. Cowper has us sing: “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. And then: “Blind unbelief is sure to err And scan His work in vain; God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.” God grant us the grace to rest in his providence when all the lights go out.

 

June 20, 2008

Last Sunday night Alan Walters gave a great report on this year’s General Assembly [GA] of the Presbyterian Church in America. Let me recap some of the highlights. The 36th GA met in the Hyatt Regency Reunion Center in Dallas, June 10-13. The GA is composed of Pastors and Elders representing all the churches of our denomination. The Assembly worships, attends stimulating seminars, hears reports about the ministries of the various agencies and institutions of our church, gives oversight to those same agencies and institutions, and debates matters of theology and practice important to the life and ministry of our churches and members.
Your representatives to this year’s PCA GA were eight ruling elders and five ministers. The Ruling Elders were —Gene McRoberts, Orrin Swayze, Lee Owen, Doyle Moorhead, Don Breazeale, Rob Love, Mark Windham and Alan Walters. The Teaching Elders (or pastors or ministers) were—Derek Thomas, Bill Hughes, Brister Ware, Jeremy Smith and yours truly. We are able to send so many representatives because of the size of our congregation.

This year’s General Assembly elected Dr. Paul Kooistra as moderator. Dr. Kooistra is coordinator of Mission to the World, the foreign mission agency of the PCA, with its offices located in Lawrenceville, GA. Paul is a native of Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from Columbia Seminary in Decatur, GA, with a master of divinity, and received his PhD from the University of Alabama. Before he became the coordinator of MTW in 1994, he served as a pastor, a Director of Christian Education, a professor at Belhaven College and later at RTS, then as president of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Under Dr. Kooistra’s leadership, MTW has grown into the largest missionary agency in Presbyterian history. There are over 600 career missionaries and several thousand short- term missionaries serving throughout the world.

There were two other gentlemen also nominated for moderator: Dr. Tom Kay, Jr., pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Aliceville, AL, and Dr. O. Palmer Robertson, Vice-Chancellor of African Bible University in Kampala, Uganda, (and a son and missionary of our church).

Our PCA Administrative Committee reported that the PCA now has 1,666 churches and missions—an increase of 27 over last year. There were over 10,000 professions of faith across the churches of the PCA last year. Our total communing membership is about 350,000 and we grew by about 3% (which puts us among the few growing denominations in America— the Southern Baptist Convention, for instance, reported a loss in total membership this year). Per capita giving is also up in the PCA.

Of particular interest to this congregation, because of historic connection with Reformed University Fellowship, RUF started seven new campus ministries in 2007, and now has more than 100 campus fellowships. Additionally, it was noted that more than 50 of our former RUF campus ministers are now serving as church planters, pastors and associate pastors throughout the PCA.

I had the privilege of presenting an In Memoriam resolution in recognition of the life and service of the late Robert C. “Bob” Cannada, an elder of our church and a founding father of the PCA, who died last year on July 5, 2007, just a few weeks after the Memphis GA.

Two very significant things happened at this year’s General Assembly. First, the GA continued to make clear how serious it is about thwarting a divergent teaching circulating in some parts of the PCA, known as “the Federal Vision.” The GA’s Standing Judicial Commission took the almost unprecedented step of admonishing an entire presbytery. On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, Dr. Kooistra read aloud to the whole GA a censure of admonition to Louisiana Presbytery. The Standing Judicial Commission (SJC) had filed charges against Louisiana Presbytery for “its failure adequately to protect the peace, purity and unity of the Church” in its investigation of and proceedings pertaining to Steve Wilkins, the pastor of the Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Monroe, LA, an advocate of the so-called “Federal Vision.”

Second, the GA debated on whether to establish a study committee on the role of women in diaconal ministry and on the possibility of ordaining women deacons in the PCA. On Thursday, the Overtures Committee, led by Fred Greco, a PCA pastor in Houston, TX, (and a former Ruling Elder, lawyer and RTS Jackson graduate), recommended against establishing such a committee, citing the fact that our Standards are clear on this issue, and that its rationale is solidly based on Scripture. Dr. Bryan Chapell of Covenant Seminary presented a Minority Report which asked the Assembly to establish a study committee comprised of theologians on both sides of the issue—including Tim Keller, Phil Ryken, Jimmy Agan (a New Testament professor at Covenant Seminary) and me—to meet together over the coming year to come to a Scriptural understanding of deaconesses. After a good debate, this minority report was eventually defeated.

The GA ended early, finishing its work on Thursday night. Next year’s GA will meet in Orlando, Florida. There will be a special pre-Assembly conference on the life and theology of John Calvin (because next year, 2009, will mark the five-hundredth anniversary of his birth).

June 13, 2008

Well, we have completed another year’s Vacation Bible School here at First Presbyterian. “Run the Race” was the theme, and attendance was strong (we had about 400 each day). My insider informants (I can’t reveal my sources -j), report that it was a great week! Of course, I got to participate as well (and to pull a prank on Peyton Parker and Anderson Miskelly, who thought they were pulling a prank on me!).

Too many people play crucial roles in pulling off VBS at First Church for me to even begin to try to mention them all, but I want, especially, to express my appreciation to Weezie Polk and Barbara Porter (who lead our church’s Children’s Ministry), Tracy Davis, Director; Susan Graves, Assistant Director; Mary Ball, Skit Director; Leigh Moore, Music Director; and the nearly 150 workers who filled multiple positions: Table Teachers, Bible Teachers, Music and Crafts, Playground, Refreshments, approximately 50 teen helpers, our youth staff who were involved at the Mustard Seed every day. Of course, there are numerous others who made VBS happen. May God richly bless your labors with Gospel fruit in the hearts and lives of children.

At this General Assembly, I have been asked to participate in a forum and a seminar. The forum is on the subject, “What do the sacraments actually accomplish in their administration?” The reason this is such a hot topic is because of the views of the so-called “Federal Vision” – views which last year’s PCA General Assembly declared to be out of accord with our doctrinal standards. Proponents of the “Federal Vision” want to stress what the sacraments objectively accomplish in their administration. They view this as correcting a pietistic view of the sacraments that reduces them to mere symbols. I shall be arguing in my paper (over against both the Federal Vision view(s) and over against certain memorialist views) that: “The administrations of the covenant of grace in the Bible, and their signs, are all about our assurance of God’s promise.” This is what every sacrament fundamentally sets forth. They do not effect or inaugurate God’s promise to us or our reception of it, but rather confirm and assure us of our interest in God’s promise.

Objectively, covenant signs do at least four things: (1) they display God’s promise; (2) they are, by the Holy Spirit, God’s means of confirming that promise to and in those who receive it by faith; (3) they openly manifest the church-world distinction; and (4) they visibly obligate us to respond, by grace, in faith to the promises, and in obedience to the obligations of the covenant of grace. Subjectively, covenant signs do at least four things: (1) they enable the believer to apprehend God’s promise tangibly; (2) they assure the elect of God’s promise, and of its products for and in those who receive it by faith; (3) they impress upon the believer the particularity of the covenant of grace; and (4) they impel the disciple to a grace-based discipleship.” Now that’s a pretty dense paragraph, so if you are wanting some unpacking done for you, be sure to listen to the talk online, or read it at our church website.

I will also give a paper at a seminar, on the subject of: “Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in the PCA: Where we’ve come from, and the way ahead.” Again, this is a hot topic because of a number of overtures at this year’s GA asking the denomination to consider ordaining women deacons, and elaborating our position on the ministry of women in the church. We’ll give you a full report on all the goings on at Assembly, this coming Sunday night.

We finished Philippians on last Sunday morning, and this coming Lord’s Day (June 15), we will (DV) begin the fourth book of the Psalms (90-106) with an exposition of “Moses’ Psalm – Psalm 90. See you there.

May 9, 2008
Well, there is tons to say today, so let me get right to it. First, thank you for your participation in the officer nomination process. We have had a record participation in nominations, and we have an outstanding slate of officer candidates. More on that soon, but for now, as soon as you see the list of our nominees, I’d encourage you to: (1) Start praying for them. Pray that they would learn much and grow in grace through the training process. (2) Start getting to know the ones you don’t, and to know better the ones that you do know as well. (3) As you get their bios, begin to ask yourself questions about the character qualifications of officers in the New Testament, and begin to pray that God would show you those marks in the lives of those you will vote for. 

Second, last week was the final week for three wonderful staff people at our church. Marianna Breazeale and  Allison Shaw concluded, with distinction, their faithful labors here at First. Marianna worked with our students, and Allison with the Discipleship Ministry. These gifted and hardworking friends have served us all well, and they will be missed. Meanwhile, last week was also Ben Shaw’s final full week of work with our students. By the time you are reading this, Ben and Marianna will probably be married. They are going to be serving the Lord together with Reformed University Ministries on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi, leading the RUF group there. Ben has done a tremendous job ministering to our guys. Marianna, Allison and Ben – we will miss you!  

Third, a bunch of you have been asking me about the runaway bestselling book The Shack by William Young. It has been endorsed by a number of ‘evangelical’ figures (some with wildly enthusiastic blurbs, like Eugene Peterson, who declares that it is going to be this generation’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” – I don’t think so!). Well, it’s hard to know where to begin, but the novel is about finding God, believing in God, understanding God in the midst of unspeakable pain. It’s the story of a man named Mackenzie Phillips, whose youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted on a family vacation. Evidence is subsequently found that she may have been brutally murdered in a shack in the Oregon wilderness. Naturally, this loving father is heartbroken. Four years later, still in the midst of deep despair, Mack gets a letter from God asking him to meet Him at the shack for a weekend (thus the title, The Shack). Mack goes, and meets the Trinity (which is composed of an African-American woman, named Papa, who is the manifestation of the Father, Jesus is a middle-aged man of middle-eastern descent, and the Holy Spirit appears as Sarayu, a small Asian woman). Naturally, this very literary device will strike some of us as irreverent.  

What about the theology of the book? Well, it’s a mixed bag. Because of the very style of the literature, it is hard to always know for sure what the author is asserting or attempting to convey, but the people I trust most have not been positive in their assessment of its message. Tim Challies has a good review of it at his website – www.challies.com. I commend his review to you: the precise address of which is:  http://www.challies.com/ archives/book-reviews/the-shack-bywilliam-p-young.php

Here’s how Tim summarizes the book:

“It is clear to me that The Shack is a mix of good and bad. Young teaches much that is of value and he teaches it in a slick and effective way. Sadly, though, there is much bad mixed in with the good. As we pursue his major theological thrusts we see that many of them wander away, by varying degrees, from what God tells us in Scripture. ... Despite the great amount of poor theology, my greatest concern is probably this one: the book has a quietly subversive quality to it. Young seems set on undermining orthodoxy Christianity.... Because of the sheer volume of error and because of the importance of the doctrines reinvented by the author, I would encourage Christians, and especially young Christians, to decline this invitation to meet with God in The Shack. It is not worth reading for the story and certainly not worth reading for the theology.”

Whatever you decide, I’d urge you to read with discernment. But I’d also urge you to be prepared to talk biblically about the themes of the book with unbelieving and unchurched friends, whose interests may have been piqued by reading the book. That means that it would be worth your time to read Tim’s review, if not the book itself. Use your conversations with others as Gospel opportunities to talk about eternal things rather than to argue about the relative merit or demerit of the book itself.

May 2, 2008

Since January 3, 2007 we have been studying through the book of Numbers, on and off, on Sunday evenings and Wednesday nights. 46 sermons later, we are almost done. On Wednesday night, May 7, we are due to arrive at the final chapter of the book. I know, Numbers is probably not one of your top ten favorite Bible books (although, I must say, it has really grown on me during this series!), but Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 that the book of Numbers was written for us as Christians and is profoundly practical for us today! In fact, he says more than that. He says that events recorded in Numbers actually happened for us and that God wants us to learn from them how we are to live right now! Our study has certainly proved this to be the case..
    Well, the whole book of Numbers looks forward to Israel’s settlement in the promised land, and so it is appropriate that it closes with six provisions of God in relation to the occupation of Canaan. We’ve looked at the first three of these. We’ll look at the last three in the final two sermons.
    Meanwhile, on this past Sunday night, we considered the boundaries of the land and the men appointed by God to see to the distribution of it. We saw three things: (1) God’s generosity in giving Israel more land than they ever occupied (this also, nevertheless, highlights Israel’s failure to obey God in fully occupying the land); (2) The link between God’s blessing and our response, and what this teaches us about the way of sanctification, or growth in the Christian life. We described this using the motto: the Land is yours, now take it (see Numbers 33:53 “And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.”) It’s the Old Testament version of the New Testament principle that “the indicative precedes the imperative.” God gives us what He commands and then commands us. (3) God’s wise three-part plan for taking the distribution of the land out of the hands of the tribes [lots, proportionate designation, divinely appointed leaders].
    If you missed some, most or all of this series, you can read or listen to it online at the church website, or you can order CDs or tapes of it from the Learning Resource Center.
    Meanwhile, on Sunday mornings we have been studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians for almost exactly a year (the first message was preached on April 29, 2007). We are now about six sermons from the end. We’ll probably cover it this way. We’ll begin the end of our journey through this epistle by looking at Philippians 3:12-16 this Sunday. Then 3:17-4:1 on May 11, 4:2-7 on May 18, followed by 4:8-9 the next week, and 4:10-20 on June 1, finishing 4:21-23 on June 8. I have deliberately taken the pace of preaching through Philippians significantly slower than any other series that I’ve preached at First Presbyterian (and, yes, friends, I’ve heard your groaning!), not to vex you or bore you, but to try to work the truth of this letter deep down into our bones. Well, you’ve almost survived.
I must say that it is always bittersweet for me when I come to an end of a sermon series through a Bible book with you. This is so for a variety of reasons. (1.) I always look back and wish I’d preached the book better. (2.) I always look back and am thankful for what I’ve learned, and wished I’d learned it a long time ago. (3.) The thought always crosses my mind that I will not likely pass this way with you again in this book. That is, when I conclude a series, it strikes me that it may be the last time I’ll study that book with you from the pulpit of First Pres. For no matter how long the Lord gives me to minister here at First Pres, it is unlikely that I’ll be able to preach through the Bible twice, or even to preach through many, or any, Bible books twice with you – the Bible is a big book! All these things make the privilege of preaching the Word to you, all the more precious to me.
    Where next? Psalms, Book 4 (90-106) on Sunday mornings. Derek will continue through Ezra and Nehemiah. Jeremy Smith and Nate Shurden are going to do some preaching on Wednesday nights. And then, somewhere, I’m going to jump into Deuteronomy!

 

April 11, 2008

April 4, 2008 turned out to be a day to remember in Jackson. Northeast Jackson was hit harder this past Friday, just after noon, than we were by Katrina. A category E2 tornado touched down in the extreme south of Madison Country, near Highland Colony Parkway, blazed a trail of destruction across Hinds County (but especially northeast Jackson) and then ended in Rankin County.
    All along the way the tornado crashed into the lives of more than a thousand members of First Presbyterian Church. And the Lord watched over us all, from Beth Keeler, who found herself right under the thing as it first came down (picking up her SUV and blowing out her windows, then setting her down safe but shaken) to Justin and Jay Pillsbury, who were at home right in the path of the monster but were kept safe and sound (but look at the houses around them), to Brister and Marian Ware’s home in Rankin County (in whose neighborhood the great storm ended), which alone on its street was spared major damage – the Lord hedged us about with angels.
    The providences here are too numerous and extraordinary to discount as coincidence. We have manifold reasons to thank the Lord, even with the major impact the great winds have had on so many of us (and there are many of our own who have been deeply affected) – for the Lord spared our lives. Let us thank him.
Billy Joseph and our deacons have been on the move since Friday, calling on hundreds of members and helping many in need of assistance. If you still need help in the recovery (and let me stress that a number of our members have sustained significant structural damage to their homes and property), please call Billy Joseph at the church (at 601 973 9124) and let him know. We’ll do everything in our power to help and encourage you.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the congregation quickly and enthusiastically approved the elders’ recommendation that we embark on a season of officer elections. Let me point out just a few important things about the process as we go forward.
    First, our wise elders have changed our almost 50-year old practice of requiring you to vote for a set number of candidates on your ballots. They have made this change out of a concern to protect your freedom of conscience. Now, you will be allowed to vote for up to a maximum number on each ballot. I’ll explain more about that later, but since I’ve had more questions about that issue than any other in my dozen years here at First Presbyterian, I thought you’d want to know.
    Second, the revised nomination process requires a man to receive three (3) nominations in order for his name to be placed before the elders in the officer election process. This will require all of us to participate in the nomination process as never before. I hope it will get you talking to one another about the men in whom you see gifts for leadership and service in our church. Make sure you get the official nomination forms from the church office and follow the instructions carefully. We’ve got a lot to do this month!
    Third, remember that our church officer election policy and the nomination forms, and other information about the election process are available to you on the church website.
    You can go to the church home page at www.fpcjackson.org , and click on recent updates and follow the links, or your can type
http://www.fpcjackson.org/general/policy/Church_Officers/church_officer_policy.htm into your web browser’s url line.
    Remember that this coming Lord’s Day is Communion Sunday. Let’s make this a time of Gospel rejoicing and forgiveness.

April 4, 2008

In Titus 1:6-9 he adds that an elder must be “above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”
    Thus, to summarize, the Bible specifies godly Christian character, family spiritual leadership, and ability to teach the truth of the Word as indispensable qualifications for the eldership.
    What are deacons? Well, the office of deacon, too, is an office to be held by godly men and those who hold this office are jointly responsible for leading the mercy ministry of the church. Our Book of Church Order puts it this way: “The office of deacon is set forth in the Scriptures as ordinary and perpetual in the Church. The office is one of sympathy and service, after the example of the Lord Jesus; it expresses also the communion of saints, especially in their helping one another in time of need.”
    What do deacons do? The Book of Church Order supplies this helpful summary: “It is the duty of the deacons to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress. It is their duty also to develop the grace of liberality in the members of the church, to devise effective methods of collecting the gifts of the people, and to distribute these gifts among the objects to which they are contributed. They shall have the care of the property of the congregation, both real and personal, and shall keep in proper repair the church edifice and other buildings belonging to the congregation.”
What are the biblical qualifications for deacon? The Bible is clear about the qualifications for a deacon. Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:8-10, 12-13 that “Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”
    Deacons were first appointed in the church by the apostles themselves, in Acts 6. A problem had arisen in connection with church aid given to some of the widows in the congregation in Jerusalem. The apostles determined that it would be wrong for them to neglect their job as elders, but that the ministry of mercy was also too important to neglect. Thus, we read: “So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, ‘It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’” The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.” (Acts 6:3-6)
    This is why our Book of Church Order says: “To the office of deacon, which is spiritual in nature, shall be chosen men of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly spirit, warm sympathies, and sound judgment.” Thus, to summarize, the Bible specifies godly Christian character, family spiritual leadership, and firm belief in the truth of the Word as indispensable qualifications for the diaconate.

 

March 21, 2008

It is Easter week, and we are greatly anticipating worshiping together on the Lord’s Day. I can’t wait to sing “See, What a Morning,” and “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” with you! And guess where we are in our study of Philippians? We have made it to Philippians 3:1-11. Coincidence? No, providence! Read the whole passage but here’s a little taste: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” I can’t wait to learn the truth of this passage with you on the Day of Resurrection!
    Do also remember that we are rapidly approaching the date of our congregational meeting in which we will begin the process of electing new elders and deacons.    On Sunday, April 6, 2008, after the 11 o’clock service only, we will gather as a membership to act on a recommendation from the elders that we elect new deacons and elders. 
    Go to the front page of the church website (that’s www.fpcjackson.org) and at the top of the page, click on “general info,” then “policy statements,” and then “Church Officers: Biblical Qualifications and Election Info.”

Or go directly to:
http://www.fpcjackson.org/general/policy/Church_Officers/church_officer_policy.htm.

    Here are some important things you need to know about the nominations process: Nominations for Ruling Elders and Deacons will begin immediately upon the congregational approval of the resolution from our Session on April 6, which sets the election process in motion. The period of time for nominations will last for almost a month, ending on May 2, 2008, at 5:00 p.m.
    Only those men who have been members of First Presbyterian Church for at least three years, who meet the qualifications of Scripture, whose reputation and character are known, who are committed to the doctrines of our church, and who show the gifts for the specific office being considered are eligible for nomination.
Each full communing member is allowed to nominate as many men as have been approved to be elected. By submitting and signing an officer-nomination form, church members are attesting that (1) they have spoken with the person being nominated and (2) they have gained his permission to do so.
    For a male member of the congregation to be considered for nomination for either Elder/Deacon, he will be required to receive at least three nominations. All nominations for either office shall be handed or mailed to the Executive Minister’s office on the provided form.
    If you are making more than one nomination, then you need to submit a separate nomination form for each person you nominate. The nomination forms received from church members shall be maintained in the church office until the election is complete. Upon receiving the third nomination, the church office will promptly send the nominee notice that he has been nominated for elder or deacon, along with other pertinent information regarding the election process. Nominees, please note: your prompt return of all requested responses for information will be required by the deadlines indicated in the correspondence you receive from the church office.


 

March 14, 2008

We are approaching the date of our congregational meeting in which we will begin the process of electing new elders and deacons. Over the weeks and months to come, here in The First Epistle and on the pastors’ blog (at http://fpcj.blogspot.com/ and  http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/apologetics/Worship/index.htm,)

I want to draw your attention to what the Bible says about the qualifications and responsibilities of the offices of elder and deacon. It is vital that our whole congregation understand these, because you will be called upon to nominate them and to elect those who will serve, you will need to know what the Bible requires and be able to discern who fulfills the requirements.

Today, I want to consider with you the task of the elder, and how you might go about discerning it in a man. In 2 Timothy 2:1-2, the Apostle Paul tells his protege, the young pastor Timothy: “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Paul is telling Timothy to seek out and find and disciple and equip elders, who will themselves in turn seek out and disciple other people in the church.

Notice that these elders are to be pastors, shepherds, who are reliable and faithful and who are willing and able to teach and disciple others. This is the same thing Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:2 “an overseer [meaning an elder, guide, shepherd, pastor] must be . . . able to teach.” That is, the fundamental thing that an elder must have the desire and ability to do, is to teach, to disciple. To teach the faith, the Gospel, the Bible. To edify the flock with the word of life. To equip the saints for the work of service.

So how do you know whether a man has this desire and ability? How would you identify such a person? Well, here are a few ideas (several of them borrowed from my good friend Thabiti Anyabwile who has written a great series on elders).

1. Note those men who are regularly in attendance at the church’s services (Sunday morning, Sunday evening and at the Mid-week Bible Study and Prayer Meeting or who participate in the Wednesday night Discipleship groups), as well as Sunday School, and who are otherwise actively involved in the ministry of the church. Start with those who already show an active commitment to the ministry and who will be models of that commitment to the body.

2. Note the men who already appear to be shepherding members of the church yet without the title “elder” or “pastor.” Who are the men that care for others by visiting or practicing hospitality, giving counsel (being often sought after by others), and who participate in the teaching ministry of the church.

3. Note those men who show respect and trust in the present leadership of our elders, who work to understand the directions leadership pursue, who ask good/appropriate questions in appropriate settings, who avoid creating confusion or dissension in private and in public.

4. Note those men who have evidenced this desire over time. Don’t hesitate to ask a man whether he desires to teach and disciple others as an elder in the church. Ask him how long he has had this desire. What kindled it in him at first? And since in our church the teaching of the elders must be in accord with the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, ask him about his study and understanding of, and commitment to, the theology of the Westminster Standards.

 

February 22, 2008

Well, in the midst of missions conference, it will perhaps be encouraging to you for me to pause and tell you a little about what God is doing closer to our home front. Last Lord’s Day afternoon (after a wonderful new members luncheon at First Presbyterian), Anne, Sarah Kennedy, Jennings and I drove down to Summit, Mississippi, for the particularization service of the New Covenant Presbyterian Church of McComb, MS. As I mentioned from the pulpit on Sunday morning, many of you have been praying for many years that a PCA work would be started and thrive in McComb. Well, God has heard and answered those prayers in a remarkable way.
    I can’t tell the whole story, but let me hit some high points. Last year, it was my privilege to address the congregation of J.J. White Memorial PC(USA) in McComb. They were deeply concerned by the widespread biblical infidelity in their denomination and considering alternatives. Thus, they invited in representatives to address them from the EPC, New Wineskins, PCUSA and PCA. In the end, when the congregation was unable to muster consensus to leave the PCUSA as a whole, rather than contribute to a contentious church split and property battle, 11 of 15 elders resigned and a large group of members prayed that God would provide some other avenue in answer to their prayers for a renewed, vital, biblical church. They really were a model of Christian kindness and integrity in a very difficult situation.
    Well, these energetic, committed Christians began to make plans for a new Presbyterian congregation in McComb in early July, 2007. On July 29, 2007, they overwhelmingly agreed to seek affiliation with the Presbyterian Church in America. The congregation was received as a mission congregation of the PCA at the September 11, 2007, meeting of Grace Presbytery.
    Since that time, a full schedule of services has been held each week. Our own Pam Glover has helped organize their Women in the Church (WIC) for service and fellowship (Dr. Jeff Glover, Pam’s husband, is one of the church’s new officers!). An adult choir is meeting on Wednesday nights. Weekly programs and classes are held for children and youth.
    A membership roll of over one hundred members was established on Sunday, October 28, 2007. During the fall, over twenty men met each week for eight weeks to study the doctrine and polity of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the denomination of which New Covenant Presbyterian Church is now a member. Elders were elected by the congregation on December 16, 2007. Deacons were elected in January, 2008.
The congregation also voted in January to extend a call to Rev. Lane Stephenson to serve as pastor. NCPC’s request to be received as a “particularized” (or “fully organized”) church was approved by Grace Presbytery at its January 7 meeting. The church is underway and growing. A building fund has been established (they are already about to outgrow their present quarters!), property is being sought, new families have joined them, and they are already contributing generously and sacrificially to the work of world missions.
    The particularization service was long (over two hours!) but exuberant. Dr. Jim Shull presided. The Elders and Deacons were ordained/installed. The church was officially constituted as a mature congregation of the PCA, and the pastor was installed. It really was glorious. We met in the Student Union Auditorium of the Southwest Mississippi Community College, and it was filled to overflowing. High points for me were hearing Richard C. Moore’s gracious testimonial, and seeing the smiles (and tears of joy) on our friends’ faces. It was just great to be with former FPC members, like Gene Price and the Glovers. We have lots of connections with this vibrant new congregation. They are excited to be about the work of the Gospel and what an inspiration it was to be with them. Let’s keep praying for and doing what we can to encourage them.

---------------------------------2008------------------------------

December 21, 2007
This is our last First Epistle for the Year of our Lord, 2007. Our faithful editor will take a brief break and we’ll have the new year’s first edition out for you in the second week of January. In the meantime, allow me to leave you with a thought to ponder over of the holidays.

Read more in 2008! That’s it. Think about it, and do it. I was recently with a friend who had been briefed by some high-level officials in the publishing industry who were commented on how few people finish books (especially big ones!) anymore. Well, Christians ought to be readers. So are you reading enough? I don’t mean glossy magazines or professional rags or sports pages. I mean substantial Christian literature.

Maybe TV is one barrier to this. I love John Piper’s article on this subject – “You Have One Life: Is TV Too Big a Part of It?” Here’s what he says:

“If all other variables are equal, your capacity to know God deeply will probably diminish in direct proportion to how much television you watch. There are several reasons for this. One is that television reflects American culture at its most trivial level. And a steady diet of triviality shrinks the soul. You get used to it. It starts to seem normal. Silly becomes funny. And funny becomes pleasing. And pleasing becomes soul-satisfaction. And in the end the soul that is made for God has shrunk to fit snugly around emptiness.”

“This may be unnoticed, because if all you’ve known is American culture, you can’t tell there is anything wrong. If you have only read comic books, it won’t be strange that there are no novels in your house. If you live where there are no seasons, you won’t miss the colors of fall. If you watch fifty TV ads each night, you may forget there is such a thing as wisdom. TV is mostly trivial. It seldom inspires great thoughts or great feelings with glimpses of great Truth. God is the great, absolute, all-shaping Reality. If He gets any air time, He is treated as an opinion. There is no reverence. No trembling. God and all that He thinks about the world is missing. Cut loose from God, everything goes down.”

“Just think how new TV is. In the 2000 years since Christ, TV has shaped only the last 2.5 percent of that history. For 97.5 percent of the time since Jesus, there was no TV. And for 95 percent of this time there was no radio. It arrived on the scene in the early 1900’s. So for 1900 years of Christian history people spent their leisure time doing other things. We wonder, what could they possibly have done? They may have read more. Or discussed things more. For certain they were not bombarded with soul-shrinking, round-the-clock trivialities.”

Pretty hard-hitting, huh? The whole area is worth reflection.

Want some suggestions? Okay, here are twelve books to read in 2008 (one for each month).
1. John Stott, Basic Christianity (IVP). 2. R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Tyndale House).
3. John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life (Crossway).
4. Don Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation (Baker).
5. J.C. Ryle, Holiness (Evangelical Press).
6. J. I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God (Eerdmans).
7. J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness (Crossway Books).
8. John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans).
9. David F. Wells, No Place for Truth (Eerdmans).
10. John Piper and Wayne Grudem, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Crossway).
11. J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism (Eerdmans).
12. Westminster Confession of Faith (Free Presbyterian Publications).

Happy reading and Merry Christmas!

Your friend,


Ligon Duncan

November 30, 2007
Derek and I will begin our sermon series on the famous “Nine Lessons and Carols” from King’s College, Cambridge, this Lord’s Day. Derek will start off in the morning services with the First Lesson: “God tells sinful Adam that he has lost the life of Paradise and that his seed will bruise the serpent’s head.” The reading is from Genesis 3 and Derek is titling the message “Christmas from Afar.” The point is that the Christmas story begins with “the Fall” and the first promise of God. Until we understand our sin and need we can’t understand the glory of grace and the gift of Christ.

    Then on Sunday evening we’ll consider the Second Lesson: “God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” The reading is from Genesis 22, in the beautiful old King James Version.

    Actually it is just verses 15-18.
“And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

    These are hugely important words. As far as we know, the last words God ever spoke to Abraham. In them, the Lord emphatically reaffirms his covenant promises to Abraham in order to give him assurance. Indeed, the passage makes clear that one consequence of Abraham’s heroic obedience in being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac was God’s special word of assurance to him. The reward of Abraham’s obedience is assurance, and the Lord honors him by reaffirming and expanding his covenantal commitments to him.

    Specifically, God reiterates four things.
1. “I will greatly bless you.” God confirms his unchanging covenantal favor.
2. “I will greatly multiply your seed.” God confirms his promise to make Abraham a father of nations (cf. Genesis 22:20-24).
3. “Your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.” God forecasts the conquest of Canaan and the church’s inheritance of the world (Romans 4:13, Matthew 5:5).
4. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” God reaffirms his purpose in blessing Abraham: that Abraham might be a blessing.
In this word of confirmation, the Lord employs shocking language: “I swear by myself.” He must witness to himself for there is none higher. Hebrews 6:13-18 explains and applies the meaning of this glorious Old Testament passage in detail.

    The great stress of the passage is the certainty of God’s promise and thus of our assurance.
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”

Come expectantly this Lord’s Day as we prepare to feast, all month long, on the grand story of our redemption.

 

November 16, 2007
One of my very favorite hymns is “What Wondrous Love Is This.” The lyrics, sometimes attributed to Alexander Means, run like this:

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

This is an old hymn, dating from the famous shaped-note songbook The Southern Harmony (1835). If you grew up in Dixie, you probably had Grandparents who sang songs (or at least remembered hearing songs) from that hymnal. The tune is a simple but haunting folk tune.

The focus of the hymn is the love of God. As we grasp the love of God, we learn to love, and are constrained by his love to share it with others, all others. His love is too great to be hidden in silence in the hearts of his people. It must be told out and sung out, and that’s what this song celebrates.

There are but three stanzas of this hymn included in our hymnal, and they each focus on very simple but profound themes. Basically, the song asks us to think about, or rather, to be lost in the glory of the love of Christ. Then it brings home two practical applications of that love: (1) the desire to exalt the Lord for that love, and (2) the comforting truth that we’ll sing this song forever and never tire of it.

In the first stanza we ponder: what kind of love would move Christ, the Lord Christ, to die for me? Indeed it is a wondrous love that moved our Lord to “bear the dreadful curse” for our souls. These words point us to reflect upon the sheer extravagance of God’s love and grace. His love is unexpected and overwhelming and incomparable. And the more we ponder it spiritually, the more baffling and comforting it is.

The second stanza is a response to the realization of Christ’s love as expressed in the first stanza. It proclaims that his love moves us to praise God and the Lamb, along with millions of others who are also beneficiaries of Christ’s devotion.

Finally, in stanza three, the hymnist reminds us that our song of praise will not end in this life. When we cross over to the other side, it will continue and increase. It is a song of joy that will go on for eternity. That truth has comforted many a weary Christian pilgrim, traveling in valleys of trouble and despair.

 

October 19, 2007

One of my very favorite hymns is Now Thank We All Our God, written in 1636 by Martin Rinkart (1586-1649), who was a Lutheran minister in Eilenburg, Saxony. “During the Thirty Years’ War, the walled city of Eilenburg saw a steady stream of refugees pour through its gates. The Swedish army surrounded the city, and famine and plague were rampant. Eight hundred homes were destroyed, and the people began to perish. There was a tremendous strain on the pastors who had to conduct dozens of funerals daily. Finally, the pastors, too, succumbed, and Rinkart was the only one left—doing 50 funerals a day. When the Swedes demanded a huge ransom, Rinkart left the safety of the walls to plead for mercy. The Swedish commander, impressed by his faith and courage, lowered his demands. Soon afterward, the Thirty Years’ War ended, and Rinkart wrote this hymn for a grand celebration service. It is a testament to his faith that, after such misery, he was able to write a hymn of abiding trust and gratitude toward God.”

    This was one of the first hymns I sang with you as your minister. I wept then as I sang and I never fail to be moved when I sing it with you still. It is one of the best in our hymnal. Let’s walk together through its glorious text.
        Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
        Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
        Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
        With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

    The first stanza has us sing, roughly: “Let us now all thank our God, with everything we are (heart, hands and voices). He has worked wonders and the whole world rejoices in Him (if we don’t, the stones will cry out!). He has shown us his favor from the first time we were held by our mothers, and all along on the way. He has blessed us with innumerable gifts flowing from His love, and He is still our God today.

    Notice how the first line reminds one of Romans 12:1 (present your body, the whole of your self, as a living sacrifice). This whole first stanza is both thanks and praise, but did you catch how the hymn gives us reasons to praise God (unlike many songs written for use in worship today). In fact, in just this first stanza, Rinkart gives you five reasons to praise God: (1) He has done wondrous things; (2) the World rejoices in Him; (3) He has blessed us from the time we were first in our mothers’ arms; (4) with unnumbered gifts of love, (5) and He’s still ours today.
        O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
        With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
        And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
        And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

    In this second stanza we are exhorting one another to worship and prayer, like this: May our generous God always be near us all life long. May we have always joyful hearts and God-given peace to cheer us on our way. May God keep us, preserve us in His grace and give us guidance when we are baffled. May God deliver us from evil, now here and forevermore in the world to come.

    So, this second stanza is a petition, and a glorious one. We pray for God’s constant presence or nearness, for joyful hearts, and God’s peace, for perseverance in grace, guidance in perplexity, and for deliverance from evil, both in this world and the world to come.
        All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
        The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
        The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
        For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

    The third stanza returns us to praise: God the Father, we give all praise and thanks to You now. And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as You all reign in heaven. Three, yet one eternal God, adored in heaven above and here below. For thus, the Triune God, was, is and ever shall be blessed, forever.

    Notice how adoration is given to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (in beautiful English verse!). The end of the hymn, indeed, reminds one of the “Gloria Patri” (with “it” referring to the Holy Trinity).
    Sing it with joy and understanding next time we sing it!

October 12, 2007

As we approach our dedication services on Sunday, and remember the Lord’s kind providence over us these past 170 years, it is appropriate for us to recount some history here. Presbyterianism came to Mississippi long before Mississippi became a state (on December 10, 1817). One immediately thinks of, for instance, the old Salem [now Pine Ridge (PCA)] Church in Natchez that dates from 1807—the oldest extant Presbyterian congregation in the state. Within twenty years of the first Presbyterian missionaries in the territory, the Synod of Kentucky constituted the original Presbytery of Mississippi on March 6, 1816.
 

    But there were Presbyterians and Presbyterian churches here even earlier. For instance, the Presbyterians of the New York Missionary Society (of the Presbyterian Synod of New York) had sent missionaries to work among the Choctaw Indians while Mississippi was just barely a territory (established April 7, 1798), in 1799. In 1801, the Synod of North Carolina sent three missionaries who came by way of Nashville, and down the Old Natchez Trace. They established Presbyterianism in the Natchez area (the Bethel [1804], Salem and First Natchez [1817] churches all resulted from their ministry).

    In general, Presbyterianism in Mississippi has spread eastward and north out of the southwestern corner of the old territory, from what is now Adams County. Meanwhile, back in the east-central region of the state, the early influence of Presbyterians from North and South Carolina can be seen in the name of the Carolina Presbyterian Church (1841) in Neshoba County.

    Presbyterian churches existed in Edwards and Clinton before Jackson. In 1826, the Bethesda Presbyterian Church was founded in Edwards, and the old Mount Salus Church was established in Clinton, prior to the organization of First Church in Jackson. The Bethesda Church is the oldest church in the Mississippi Valley Presbytery (PCA).

    The congregation of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson began its history on a Saturday afternoon, April 8, 1837, by the Rev. Peter Donan and four persons: Mrs. Margaret E. Mayson, Mrs. Susan Patton, and John Robb and his wife, Marion. The organizational meeting was held in “the Old State House,” Mississippi’s first capitol, a small two-story structure on the northeast corner of East Capitol and North President Streets.

    The organizing pastor (what today we would call a “church planter”) was Peter Donan. Donan, who studied at Princeton Seminary under Charles Hodge and Samuel Miller, continued as the church’s pastor for four years. There were no elders for two years, no deacons for six years, and no meeting house for nearly nine years. In the first two years of its existence, the church had but three new members. Make sure and look at the handsome bulletin board that Janet Quayle has prepared on our church history (it is on the bridge from the Study Center/Day School on the way to the Library and Sanctuary).

We’ll continue to tell the story of the history of Presbyterianism in Mississippi, and the history of our congregation, in this column in weeks to come. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to worship services with you here on Sunday morning and evening with R.C. Sproul and Jim Baird preaching. And don’t forget, Jimmy Turner will preach the following Wednesday night (Oct. 17). See you here!

July 13, 2007
This has been a special week here at First Presbyterian Church, our first communion service in our new meeting house was held last Lord’s Day morning. How good it was to gather with you and commune, in Gospel grace, with our Lord. As we prepared for worship, I shared this brief word of explanation. “As we prepare for the Lord’s Supper, an act of public worship and a precious privilege for believers that displays our union and communion with Christ, let’s meditate on the meaning of the Lord’s Supper with the help of J.I. Packer, who says:
    “The Lord’s Supper is an act of worship taking the form of a ceremonial meal, in which Christ’s servants share bread and wine in memory of their crucified Lord and in celebration of the new covenant relationship [they have] with God through Christ’s death.
    “The prescribed ritual of the Supper has three levels of meaning for participants. First, it has a past reference to Christ’s death which we remember. Second, it has a present reference to our corporate feeding on him by faith, with implications for how we treat our fellow believers (1 Cor. 11:20-22). Third, it. has a future reference as we look ahead to Christ’s return and are encouraged by the thought of it. Preliminary self-examination, to make sure one’s frame of mind is as it should be, is advised (1 Cor. 11:28), and the wisdom of the advice is obvious.”
    This, by the way, reminds me that several over you wrote to me asking for the Sam Storms quote that I used for preparation for worship on July 1. Here it is (and I want to here record my thanks to Justin Taylor who brought it to my attention on his excellent blog “Between Two Worlds” – which all of you can read online at http://theologica.blogspot.com/).
    Okay, here it is, from Sam Storms, Signs of the Spirit, pp. 204-205: “Here, then, is how we must come to God, whether to serve him or worship him or enjoy all that he is for us in Jesus: Come, confessing your utter inability to do or offer anything that will empower God or enrich, enhance, or expand God.
    “Come, with heartfelt gratitude to God for the fact that whatever you own, whatever you are, whatever you have accomplished or hope to accomplish, is all from him, a gift of grace.
    “Come, declaring in your heart and aloud that if you serve, it is in the strength that God supplies (1 Pet. 4:10); if you give money, it is from the wealth that God has enabled you to earn; if it is praise of who he is, it is from the salvation and knowledge of God that he himself has provided for you in Christ Jesus.
“Come, declaring the all-sufficiency of God in meeting your every need. Praise His love, because if He were not loving, you would be justly and eternally condemned. Praise His power, because if He were weak, you would have no hope that what He has promised He will fulfill. Praise His forgiving mercy, because apart from His gracious determination to wash you clean in the blood of Christ, you would still be in your sin and hopelessly lost. So, too, with every attribute, praise Him!
    “Come, with an empty cup, happily pleading: “God, glorify Yourself by filling it to overflowing!”
    “Come, with a weak and wandering heart, joyfully beseeching: “God, glorify Yourself by strengthening me to do Your will and remain faithful to Your ways!”
    “Come, helpless, expectantly praying: “God, glorify Yourself by delivering me from my enemies and my troubles!”
    “Come, with your sin, gratefully asking: “God, glorify Yourself by setting me free from bondage to my flesh and breaking the grip of lust and envy and greed in my life!”
    “Come, with your hunger for pleasure and joy, desperately crying: “God, glorify Yourself by filling me with the fullness of joy! God, glorify Yourself by granting me pleasures that never end! God, glorify Yourself by satisfying my heart with Yourself! God, glorify Yourself by enthralling me with Your beauty . . . by overwhelming me with Your majesty . . . by taking my breath away with fresh insights into Your incomparable and infinite grandeur! God, glorify Yourself by shining into my mind the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ!””

June 15, 2007
Well, we have completed another year’s Vacation Bible School here at First Presbyterian. Attendance was strong (we had about 425 each day), and my insider informants, the Dunklings, report that it was a great week! Too many people play crucial roles in pulling off VBS at First Church for me to even begin to try to mention them all; but I want, especially, to express my appreciation to Weezie Polk and Barbara Porter (who lead our church’s Children’s Ministry), Beth Keeler, Director; Tracy Davis, Assistant Director; Kim Porter, Skit Director; Jane Yerger, Music Director; and the nearly 150 workers who filled multiple positions: Table Teachers, Bible Teachers, Music and Crafts, Playground, Refreshments, approximately 60 teen helpers, and our youth staff who ran VBS at Neighborhood Christian Center every afternoon. Of course, there are numerous others who made VBS happen. May God richly bless your labors with Gospel fruit in the hearts and lives of children.
     I am writing this First Epistle article from Memphis, Tennessee, where the PCA General Assembly is this year. By the time you are reading this, the Assembly will be over; but Jim Moore will give you a quick report on the week’s activities on Sunday night. We have a strong delegation from First Presbyterian Church here representing you.
     This coming Lord’s Day is slated to be our last day of worship services in our temporary quarters. The following Sunday we are scheduled to be in the new sanctuary. We’ve said it several times but it bears repeating – our first services are slated for Sunday, June 24, 2007. The services will be at our traditional 8:30 and 11 o’clock a.m. and 6:00 p.m. times. Naturally, the doors will open early.
     We should also mention that work on the covered entryway from the Belhaven Street side will probably not be completed until late July. The Casavant organ builders have been working hard in the early phase of building this magnificent new instrument. They have been installing the pipes in the organ chambers six days a week, Monday to Saturday; but it will take them all summer long to assemble, complete, prepare, and tune the organ.
     For this reason, we are not planning to do our special services celebrating the completion of the new sanctuary until the organ work is done in September. Then, in the months of September, October, and November, we will have a series of special services of thanksgiving. There will be guest preachers, special music, and more, as we give praise to God for his kindness to us and celebrate His providence in the 170 years of the life of this church.
     We should also note (again) that because of six-day-a-week organ construction, we will not be hosting weddings in the sanctuary until October. Organ construction may also impact our ability to host funerals (but we will still have the temporary sanctuary, Lowe Hall, and Patterson available for on-site funerals), so please be patient with us as we finalize the work on this handsome facility.

June 8, 2007
The summer is officially underway at First Presbyterian; and, as usual, we are not gearing down, but gearing up! Vacation Bible School has been blowing and going all week long, and this was also the first week of Twin Lakes summer camp (we so enjoyed having the staff here for the commissioning service last Sunday morning)    Do keep your bulletin or First Epistle with the list of the Twin Lakes summer staff and remember to pray for them all summer long. Meanwhile, I’ll give you a report on VBS next week.
     Speaking of next week (June 12-15), the PCA General Assembly is meeting in Memphis, Tennessee. Pray for our commissioners as they represent you at this important national meeting of our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. Thomas will be preaching Sunday morning and evening while I am away for General Assembly, and (Lord willing) I’ll be back in the pulpit on June 17.
This past Sunday morning, we started our study of Philippians 1:21. We said Paul virtually turns this assertion into a life motto, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
     Paul having reflected during his imprisonment on the meaning of life and the benefit of death, comes to this conclusion. Christ is going to be glorified no matter what the verdict is against me. And so I am going to be the gainer, no matter what the verdict is against me. And Paul wants the Philippians, and you and me, to understand this, because his experience is not meant to be unique. We, too, are meant to have this outlook. We focused on two things that Paul teaches us here: what true life is, and why death is gain for Christians.
     First, Paul tells us that real life is knowing, loving, serving, glorifying, enjoying, and communing with Christ. That’s what he means when he says “to live is Christ.” Paul is saying that he finds total life meaning and fulfillment in Christ. How does the old Gospel song put it? “Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all.” In other words, for Paul, and for all true Christians, the joy of life is wrapped up in the presence and enjoyment and service of Jesus. As Peter O’Brien says: “For Paul, living has no meaning apart from Christ. He is the object, motive, inspiration and goal of everything Paul does.” Is that how it is with you?
Then Paul springs the punch line. Because of this, death is even better. That is, because to live is to glorify and enjoy Christ, death is gain, because I am brought into the nearer presence of Christ thereby. Hence, he says, “to die is gain.”
     Note here, Paul is not struggling between heaven and hell, or between a hard life on earth and a respite in death, but between full life now and immediately fuller life upon his death—abundant life and fruitful Christ-exalting ministry amidst struggles, suffering, and pain here on earth, and even more abundant life because of the immediate enjoyment of Christ in His nearer presence, in death.
     As Moises Silva observes, this means that “Paul’s deliverance does not depend on whether he lives or dies. He views death as an advantageous alternative.” Why? Because Paul has come to understand that Christ is going to be glorified no matter what the verdict is against him. And so Paul is going to be the gainer, no matter what the verdict is against him. For Paul this life is bound up with knowing and glorifying Christ, that will only increase in the life to come. Thus, death is gain. What kind of gain? The gain is the personal benefit of being in the Lord’s presence. If to live is to glorify and enjoy Christ, to die is to glorify and enjoy him more!

June 1, 2007
I am writing this column on Monday, May 28, 2007—which is designated for the observance of Memorial Day in our country (the historic date is May 30). The origins of Memorial Day are somewhat sketchy, but its central point is the remembrance of those who have died in our nation’s service.
     Even before the end of the War Between the States (what some call the American Civil War), organized women’s groups here in the South were decorating graves of fallen heroes. And, of course, this was happening all over the land. The terrific casualties of that colossal conflict led to events, both spontaneous and planned, in cities, towns, and villages in north and south, to remember their beloved and honored dead. It is not surprising, then, that the establishment of Memorial Day finds its roots in the turbulent 1860s. Of course, we in the South for many years had our own special date for the remembrance of the Confederate dead. But that is another story for another time.
     How should we, as Christians, respond to Memorial Day? After all, we live now in an unpatriotic time, amidst a nation that is evidently apathetic about (or opposed to) the war in which we are now engaged. And, furthermore, many Americans hardly notice Memorial Day anymore. It is passed over as just another three-day weekend, or as the mark of the beginning of summer.
     President Bush’s Memorial Day Address had some helpful thoughts for us to consider. “This Memorial Day weekend, Americans honor those who have given their lives in service to our Nation. As we pay tribute to the brave men and women who died for our freedom, we also honor those who are defending our liberties around the world today . . . . soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have volunteered to protect America. We live in freedom because patriots such as these are willing to serve, and many have given their lives in defense of our Nation. On Monday, I will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in their country’s cause . . . . On Memorial Day, we pray for our men and women serving in harm’s way. We pray for their safe return. And we pray for their families and loved ones, who also serve our country with their support and sacrifice . . . . On Memorial Day, we rededicate ourselves to freedom’s cause . . . . On Memorial Day, we also pay tribute to Americans from every generation who have given their lives for our freedom. From Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Kuwait to Kandahar, from Berlin to Baghdad, brave men and women have given up their own futures so that others might have a future of freedom. Because of their sacrifice, millions here and around the world enjoy the blessings of liberty. And wherever these patriots rest, we offer them the respect and gratitude of our Nation.”
     This quick overview of the purpose of Memorial Day suggests to us a number of things we can do as Christians, who happen to be American citizens also.
1. We can teach our children and grandchildren the meaning of the day, and we can observe it ourselves as families, since we as Christians and as American citizens are the beneficiaries of the noble and brave service of our fallen servicemen and women.
2. This would be a good day to teach our young ones the stories of those in our own family and church who have risked or given their lives in service of our country. Perhaps, thusly, the brave spirit of the past will be handed on to a new generation. “Remembering knows before knowing ever remembers” a Nobel Prize-winning Mississippian once said.
3. We can appreciate the almost incalculably expensive human cost of the freedoms we enjoy, among them not least the freedom to worship the one true God, through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His Word, without fear of persecution. This should lead us to thank God, as well as memorialize our dead.
4. We can pray for those in harm’s way now, who are serving our country, and for their anxious families and loved ones. This is but one way we can fulfill Paul’s directive in 1 Timothy 2:1.

May 18, 2007

Let me say again that our first service in the new sanctuary is slated for Sunday morning, June 24, 2007. The services will be at our traditional 8:30 and 11 o’clock am, and 6pm times. We’ll make some announcements over the weeks to come about wheelchair accessibility, and offer some tips about ingress and egress (er, that is, how best to get in and out!).
     Meanwhile, on Sunday mornings we are working our way through Philippians in a series called Fighting for Joy, Growing in Humility, Knowing Christ and the Peace that Passes Understanding. This past Sunday morning our topics was “He finishes what He starts” from Philippians 1:6 which says “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
     Paul says here that he is joyful and thankful and confident because salvation is God’s work from beginning to end, from first to last, from start to finish: conversion, justification, sanctification and glorification. God changes your heart, God declares you right with himself, God is at work growing you up in grace, and God will perfect you on the last day. This is the foundation of the believer’s confidence —that God is at work in the totality of our salvation. He is saving and changing and building His church.
     Calvin puts it this way: “Let, therefore, believers exercise themselves in constant meditation upon the favors which God confers, that they may encourage and confirm hope as to the time to come, and always ponder in their mind this syllogism: God does not forsake the work which his own hands have begun, as the Prophet bears witness, (Psalm 138:8; Isaiah 64:8;) we are the work of his hands; therefore he will complete what he has begun in us. When I say that we are the work of his hands, I do not refer to mere creation, but to the calling by which we are adopted into the number of his sons. For it is a token to us of our election, that the Lord has called us effectually to himself by his Spirit.” He goes on to say that it “is a general rule both as to ourselves and as to others — that, distrusting our own strength, we depend entirely upon God alone.”
     We looked at this glorious, brief verse in six aspects: (1) the author and initiator of our salvation; (2) the good or noble or excellent work of our salvation; (3) the unfinished nature of our salvation here in this life; (4) the certainty of the full completion of our salvation; (5) the perfection of our completed salvation; and (6) the occasion of the completion of our salvation.
     We learn from Paul here that Salvation is God’s work, He is its initiator in us and He is working all along to bring it to full fruition. It is God Himself who “began a good work in you,” says Paul. And he says this all the time. Take a look at Ephesians 2:1 and 5, and Colossians 2:13, for instance. But Paul is not just saying the God starts the work of our salvation, he is stressing that God is in it all along “He who began a good work in you will perfect it “(see Philippians 2:13, where he makes this very point again).
     Paul calls God’s work in us a “good work” because it fits us for the enjoyment of God. “He who began a good work in you. God’s work of grace in us is a good work, a noble work, a blessed work, an excellent work, for it makes those who were once bad, good. It makes us godly, conforms us to Christ and fits us for the enjoyment of God.
     Paul reminds us that salvation is an unfinished work here, and it is vital for us to remember this! It will not be completed or perfected or finally accomplished “until the day of Christ Jesus.” The work of grace is but begun in this life; it is not finished here; as long as we are in this imperfect state there is something more to be done. (Matthew Henry) This is a hugely important and encouraging truth. It is what led John Newton to say: “I am not what I ought to be. Ah! How imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be. I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good. I am not what I hope to be. Soon, soon, shall I put off, with mortality, sin and imperfection. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge, By the grace of God I am what I am.”
But at the same time, Paul assures us

May 11, 2007

Are you aware of just how much goes on at First Presbyterian Church on Wednesday nights? Are you taking advantage of the myriad opportunities for growth and service? Think of it. First of all, there is our Family Fellowship Dinner in Miller Hall from 4:45-6:15 p.m. The cost of it is only $5.00 per adult (for those 12 years and up), $3.00 per child, and a $15 maximum per family! I can’t take my crew to McDonalds for that, and Sue Warren and her staff prepare us all a sumptuous feast!

    Then there’s our Midweek Bible Study and Prayer Meeting: 6:30-7:30 p.m. (currently meeting in Miller Hall). Starting in September, after a robust season of prayer, each Wednesday night our beloved Derek Thomas will continue his scintillating series of sermons on Acts: “To the End of the Earth.”

    Meanwhile, we have a slew of Discipleship Groups meeting from 6:30-7:30 p.m. (in various rooms in Westminster Hall and the Study Center). These small groups are open to all adults and emphasize personal Christian growth, relationship building, and accountability; various book study options are available. For more information, contact Ashley Hall at 601-973-9118 or ashleyh@fpcjackson.org

    Don’t forget that our wonderful Adult Choir rehearses from 5:50-7:00 p.m. in the Music Suite. All adults with musical gifting and interest are cordially invited. For more information, contact Bill Wymond: 601-973-9113 or billw@fpcjackson.org

    Please note that there is a nursery provided for all these on-site, church-sponsored activities. The Nursery is open from 5:00-7:45 p.m. (in the Nursery, of
course!)—Provided for infants through three-year-old Sunday School age children. Reservations are not required. For more information, contact Janet Quayle: 601-973-9120 or jquayle@fpcjackson.org

    And remember we have many significant activities provided for our children. We have fun time and supervised play for our Kindergarten Children from 5:00-6:30 p.m. (on the Playground—weather permitting). All kindergarten children are invited to join in on this supervised play during the time of the Fellowship Dinner. If there is inclement weather, they will meet in the Study Center. Also Elementary Age Children from 5:00-6:30 p.m. (in the Gym) will find that the church gym is open to all children, 1st through 6th grade, for supervised free play during dinner. Again, for more information, contact Barbara Porter: 601-973-9190 or bporter@fpcjackson.org.

    Then there is Children’s Choir. From 6:30-7:30 p.m. (in various locations)—all children ages 4 years through 5th grade, and all 6th grade boys, are invited to participate in an outstanding choir program. For more information, contact Jane Yerger: 601-362-0905 or jpyerger@jam.rr.com

    As they say in the old “Ronco” commercials, “but wait, there’s more!” All Sixth Grade Girls: 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Main Building, Room 135) are invited to a time of devotions, projects, activities, and occasional outings. For more information, contact Bess Corbitt: bess@thecorbittcompany.com  or 601-957-6460. Meanwhile, Sixth Grade Boys 6:30–7:30 p.m. (in Gymnasium) are invited to a time of devotions and supervised activities under the direction of Phillip Parker and assistants. For further information, contact Mr. Parker at 601-982-5341

    Junior High (7th-9th Grade): 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Youth House): “The Haven”—This is a time of fellowship, fun, and Bible study. The Haven is studying through the book of Daniel. Students are welcome any time after 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact Liza Sorgenfrei: 601-973-9117 or lsorgenfrei@fpcjackson.org .
Senior High (10th-12th Grade): Small Group Bible Studies (most are on Wednesday nights and some on other nights and all at various times and locations). Again, for more information, times, and locations, contact Liza Sorgenfrei: 601-973-9117 or lsorgenfrei@fpcjackson.org . Parents remember that changes of dates and locations for all Bible studies are updated on the youth website: www.fpcym.org

    Don’t forget that Evangelism Explosion meets 6:30-9:30 p.m. (in Lowe Hall). This 13-week evangelism training is for all who want to learn to share the gospel with others. For more information call Jim Stewart at 601-973-9105 or jstewart@fpcjackson.org

    And last, but not least, remember, you may contact the church switchboard on Wednesday evenings from 5:00-7:30 p.m. and speak to a real person! For more information call: 601-353-8316.

 

August 24, 2006
For the past three Sunday mornings we have been focused on a timely topic as a part of our larger study of God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians. This mini-series is called: God’s Household Rules: Marriage and Family. In it, we are working through a section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:22-6:9) that deals with our household relationships from a Christian perspective. It is directly connected to Paul’s big theme that we are God’s new family, new society, new community in this way: Paul is asking (and answering!) “if we are God’s new community, then what should our family life look like. How are we to be different from the world?”

    So, Paul deals with husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants – the sphere of the household in biblical and Mediterranean culture. The timeliness of this for us is obvious.

    Two weeks ago, in Ephesians 5:22, we began to tackle the very politically incorrect teaching of the Bible on wives submitting, or subjecting themselves to their husbands. We began by noting that all Christians are called to serve one another, to subject themselves to one another. Then we noted the unique aspects of God’s call in this area to Christian wives. We also found John Piper and Wayne Grudem’s definition of this helpful – “Submission refers to a wife’s divine calling to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts.” (Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood)
 

    Then, this past Sunday, we got even more specific on this uncomfortable issue. We observed that when Paul said:
to us “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” He meant at least three things. To submit here clearly means for Christian wives to
(1) acknowledge, (2) follow, and (3) respect their husband’s spiritual leadership of the home.

    Practically, this means:
1. A glad recognition of the divinely given order of the household. God has made the husband head. (see v. 23). 2. A willing embrace and following of one’s husband’s spiritual authority and leadership, under God. 3. A joyful respect for your husband’s person and position in the home (see v. 33).

    This biblical, willing, glad submission might manifest itself as follows. By a Christian wife endeavoring, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to: 1. Make home a safe place for her husband: one of encouragement, comfort, understanding and refuge (Prov31:11, 20); 2. Be trustworthy and dependable (Prov 31:11-12); 3. Maintain a good attitude (Prov 31:26, 28, 29); 4. Discuss things lovingly, openly; and honestly (Eph 4:25); 5. Be content, satisfied with her position, possessions, tasks and her husband’s provisions (Phil 4:6-13); 6. Be patient, forgiving, and forbearing (Col 3:12-14); 7. Be industrious for the sake of husband and family (Psalm 128:3; Prov 31:10-31); 8. Offer suggestions, advice, counsel; and correction to her husband in a loving way that shows respect (Prov 31:26); 9. Cultivate inner beauty (1 Peter 3:3-5); 10. Pursue God and His glory (1 Cor 10:31); 11. Build loyalty to her husband in the children; 12. Be grateful and express thanks often to her husband; 13. Show confidence in his decisions (thanks to Wayne Mack, Strengthening Your Marriage, for many of these great ideas).

    We also listened to some thoughts and questions from Betsy Ricucci regarding a wife respecting her husband in thoughts, words, deeds. She asked Christian wives to ask themselves: What thoughts spring to my mind when I think of my husband? Are they honoring of him? How do I speak to my husband when we are alone? In public? How do I speak of him to others? Do I show my husband respect through my actions? How? Do I freely show him physical affection? Do I listen when he is speaking, in public and private? Or do my deeds communicate a lack of respect, inattentiveness or even indifference—interrupting him, looking away when he speaks, forgetting or failing to do the things that he has asked.
    Pray for me, as I prepare to speak very directly to our men and husbands from Ephesians 5:25-29 over the next two or three weeks.

March 9, 2007
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve told you a little about our new Director of Student Ministry – Justin Pillsbury (who will take up this new responsibility in May), and our soon-to-be Minister of Young Adults, Nate Shurden (who will start June 1). Now let me tell you a little about our soon-to-be Senior Assistant Minister, Jeremy Smith, and his family.
    Jeremy was born in Mississippi. The second of five boys, and the son of a PCA minister, Jeremy’s early years were spent in Hattiesburg (where his father was the RUF campus minister at the University of Southern Mississippi), and in Louisville. From Mississippi, Jeremy moved to Maryland, where his father served on staff with O. Palmer Robertson (a son of this church) as the Associate Minister at Wallace Memorial Presbyterian Church. The family then moved to Pittsburgh while Jeremy was in high school.
    He is a graduate of Geneva College, a Christian liberal arts school in western Pennsylvania, with a degree in Human Resource Management. Before coming to seminary, Jeremy worked in property management and coached high school boys basketball.
His wife, Terry, is a native of Pittsburgh, and has supported Jeremy’s seminary career as a hairdresser, working at a salon in Clinton. They are the parents of two-year-old Nathan, and are expecting a daughter in May!
    Jeremy has worked here at First Presbyterian as an intern and my Assistant since June 2004. In that capacity, he has assisted me in church-related writing projects, correspondence, editing and research, bulletin and worship service preparation, coordination of the Twin Lakes Fellowship and more. He has also taught in several of our adult Sunday school classes (many of you have expressed to me your appreciation of his teaching). Alongside his duties at the church, he serves as the assistant editor of reformation21 (www.reformation21.org), the online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (our own Derek Thomas is the editor)    As Senior Assistant Minister (a transitional position), Jeremy will be preparing to take up the duties of our longtime and beloved Executive Minister, Bill Hughes, upon his retirement from full-time labors here at First Presbyterian Church. Meanwhile, he will play an important role in pastoring and encouraging excellence from the church staff. He will serve as the chief communications officer of the church, give oversight to the ministries of assimilation, evangelism and missions (working with the ministers and staff who have responsibility in those areas), work with the Minister of Young Adults and the Minister of Discipleship to cultivate leaders among young adults of the church, assist the Minister of Discipleship in giving encouragement and oversight to the Youth Program, administer the Twin Lakes Fellowship, and serve as a resource to the Session’s committees.
    Jeremy is slated to take up his new responsibilities in June. He and Nate Shurden will both go through ordination exams in the summer, and will be looking toward their ordination and installation service in August.
Do pray for Jeremy and Terry, and their family, and for Jeremy’s ministry to our staff and elders, as well as his relationships with the young adults of our church.


Marach 2, 2007
Last week, I told you a little about our new Director of Student Ministry – Justin Pillsbury. Now let me tell you a little about our soon-to-be Minister of Young Adults, Nate Shurden, and his family.
    Nate was born in Laurel, Mississippi, and is married to Christy (also a native Mississippian, born and reared in Collins), whom he met in college in a small group Bible study. They have been married for five years and are the delighted parents of two little girls, Rosalyn (3 years) and Katie (16 months).
    Growing up in Laurel, Nate enjoyed the rich blessing of godly parents who sought to raise him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Family worship, reading, and active involvement in church life, were among the highlights of Nate’s early life. As a teenager, he was very active in youth group, in summer camps, and always assisted with VBS.
    When he entered college, first at Jones Junior College (Ellisville, MS) and later at Bannockburn College (Franklin, TN), Nate’s love for the gospel and the church became more pronounced. He began speaking in various youth groups throughout Mississippi and preaching on an irregular basis in local churches. While studying Moral Philosophy at Bannockburn College, with thoughts initially of becoming a teacher/professor of Humanities, Nate began teaching Sunday school at Christ Community Church (PCA) and led a series of small group Bible and book studies in the community. Alongside his teaching in the church, Nate served with Teen Community Bible Study as the Teaching Director of Williamson County. In this role, Nate taught a weekly expositional Bible study to 75-100 teenagers throughout the middle Tennessee area.
    During this time, Nate was encouraged by many to consider God’s call upon his life as a minister of the gospel. Though reluctant at first, Nate and Christy became increasingly convinced that this was indeed the direction the Lord was leading him. So, after a year of teaching at Franklin Classical School, in May of 2003, Nate and Christy moved to Jackson, MS, to study at RTS and pursue God’s call upon their lives.
    Nate accepted the Christian Education Internship at FPC in June of 2004, and in that capacity, Nate has served in various ways, mostly through teaching Sunday school, leading discipleship groups, organizing the summer Wednesday night children’s program, and reading and reviewing small group material for the Christian Education Department. In addition to his work at the church, Nate assists Dr. Derek Thomas with reformation21, the online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. At RTS, Nate has been actively involved in the spiritual life on campus, serving as President of the Student Body in his senior year.
    What will Nate be doing here at First Presbyterian Church as Minister of Young Adults (other than preaching, teaching, praying, visiting, leading, living a godly life, and being a good husband and father)? Well, he will, with the elders and staff, be developing and implementing a plan for reaching and enfolding all our young adults—couples and singles, students and career, university/college and graduate students—into the life of First Presbyterian and for discipling and equipping them all for life and service, but also, seeking to cultivate a new generation of leaders among them.

Pray for Nate and Christy, and their family, and for their ministry to young adults in our church!


February 23, 2007
Last week, I told you a little about our new Director of Student Ministry – Justin Pillsbury. Now, let me tell you a little more.
    Justin is a native of Texas, who tells me that he is thrilled to be in Mississippi. He is married to Caroline and they will celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary this August. Caroline is an RN in the mother/baby unit of Baptist Hospital here in Jackson.
    They are both from Tyler, Texas (which is in East Texas, between Jackson and Dallas). Justin and Caroline both graduated from Texas Tech University after transferring from other schools. Caroline started at the University of Texas at Austin as a piano performance major. Justin spent two and one-half years at TCU in Ft. Worth where he competed on the cross-country and track teams, as well as being minimally involved with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). He finished his degree in corporate communication at Texas Tech University in the summer of 2005. He became more involved with RUF at Texas Tech and served actively in the PCA church plant, Providence Presbyterian.
    Prior to joining the First Pres Student Ministry Staff, Justin spent four years selling residential real estate in the Lubbock area. His other work experience includes a summer at Pine Cove Christian Camps (where our own Brad Mercer worked for many years), a summer as a youth intern at Grace Community Church, and two summers as a manager at Lake Palestine Marina outside of Tyler, Texas. Both Justin’s and Caroline’s parents, brother, and sister still live in Tyler. Justin’s oldest sister, Chelsea, is an RUF intern at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. Their other two sisters attend Texas Tech.
Justin has served on the First Pres Staff as a junior high intern since July 2006. He is looking forward to the transition into Director of Student Ministry this May. He enjoys spending time and building relationships with students, as well as their families through many avenues. He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the position. Justin tells me that members of our congregation have already been a great blessing to him and Caroline in their brief time here, and that he looks forward to getting to know not only our parents and students, but also many others in the congregation. Please introduce yourself to him as he gets more acquainted with the First Pres community. By the way, his outside interests include running, golf, basketball, sporting events, and reading.
As Director of Student Ministry, Justin’s number-one priority will be to love the students of our church, live the Christian life out before and with them, proclaim to them the Gospel, teach them the truth of Scripture, pray fervently with and for them, cultivate a Gospel-derived discipleship among all the students, invest in cultivating the spiritual maturity of those with evident potential for leadership and service, and assist, encourage, and support parents in the Christian nurture of their children.
    He also desires to communicate efficiently, effectively, constantly, voluminously, and variously with our parents and youth, and see to it that all Student Ministry Staff do as well, ensuring that our parents are well informed of all activities, opportunities, responsibilities, needs, and in other calendar-related matters.
Pray for Justin and Caroline, our wonderful Student Ministry team, our young people, and our parents!

 

August 3, 2006
This past Lord’s day we began a new Sunday morning series, as a part of our larger study of God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians. The new series is called: God’s Household Rules: Marriage and Family. Over the weeks to come, we will not dodge hard issues relating to the relationships between husbands and wives (“Obey him? Are you kidding?” “Love her like Christ loves the church? Get real!”), marriage and family (“How can we live out God’s design for marriage in an age of gender confusion and marital dissolution?”), parenting and children (“What are the mutual obligations of Christian parents and children?”), masters and servants (“Does the Bible condone slavery?” “Can Paul really speak out of his cultural situation to ours?”).

    On Sunday, we looked at Ephesians 5:21, as a key verse, setting the stage for what is coming in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. When you enter into this new section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:22-6:9), you immediately realize that this passage deals with our household relationships from a Christian perspective. If we are God’s new community, then what should our family life look like? How are we to be different from the world? Paul tells us here. He deals with husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants—the sphere of the household in biblical and Mediterranean culture. The timeliness of this for us is obvious. Our culture can’t even seem to define marriage! Much less agree upon the dynamics of husband-wife marital roles and the discipline of children.

British Pastor Stuart Olyott, in summing up the flow of argument in Ephesians 4-6, says: “The apostle Paul has made it clear that Christians live differently from other people. When they are together, their behaviour contrasts sharply with the social behaviour of the unconverted (4:1-16). When they are surrounded by the men and women of the world in daily life, their conduct remains distinct (4:17-5:21). Paul is now going to tell us that they also live in a radically different way at home (5:22-6:9). It is fairly easy to live the Christian life at church. It is much more difficult to do so in the world. But the hardest place of all to live as a Christian is at home. This is why the apostle comes to this subject last of all.” Spot on, as the Brits like to say.

    Well, Ephesians 5:21 provides us with a framework for understanding this whole section, and so we camped on it Sunday morning. Remember how it goes? “Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” There is no better index of a life under the influence of the Holy Spirit, being guided by the Holy Spirit, being filled up or matured by the Holy Spirit than what Paul calls “mutual subjection.”

    One thing we tried to learn (I say “tried” because these things are more easily said than lived), is that “being subject to one another” or “subjecting yourselves” means our living out a self-denying, other-serving, Gospel-enabled, and motivated subjection to fellow Christians. That is, we are deliberate, self-conscious, joyful, and willing in committing ourselves to the service of other Christians. Our lives are to be characterized by self-denying, mutual submission in the interests of mutual edification. This means we are (1) willing to be the least (Matt 18:1-4; 20:28); (2) willing to wash the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17); (3) strive to prefer others ahead of ourselves (Romans 12:10); (4) aim to do nothing from selfish ambition but from humility (Phil 2:3).

    We become a people not characterized by insisting on getting our own way, but rather we place ourselves at one another’s disposal, and live in such a way that our mutual service becomes a hallmark of our fellowship. There should be in us a willingness to serve any, to learn from any, to be corrected by any. “How may I serve you?” becomes our motto. This sets the stage for everything that follows in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. Don’t miss it!

July 28, 2006

Well, we have come to the end of July, and we are only scant days away from the return of school and the resumption of a busy post-summer schedule. Many of you will be squeezing in one last summer get-away, while others are concentrating on getting ready for the semester ahead. Whatever the case is and whatever our occupations, let us do all we do with a strong devotion to our gracious God and a grateful dependence on our Lord Jesus Christ.
    This coming Lord’s Day, we are beginning a new section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This is going to be something of a mini-series, and it may take us a little while to find our way out of Ephesians 5:21-6:9.
    You will immediately realize that this passage deals with our household relationships from a Christian perspective. If we are God’s new community, then what should our family life look like. How are we to be different from the world? Paul tells us here. He deals with husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants—the sphere of the household in biblical and Mediterranean culture.
The timeliness of this for us is obvious. Our culture can’t even seem to define marriage! Much less agree upon the dynamics of husband-wife marital roles and the discipline of children.
    In preparation for the series, we are going to revisit Ephesians 5:21 this coming Sunday morning. This verse contains the last of the five participles (Hupotassómenoi —subjecting yourselves) that Paul used to describe what a Christian who is being filled with the Spirit looks like. It also provides his segue into the discussion of husbands and wives mutual obligations and roles, as well as those of parents and children, and masters and servants.
Remember how the verse goes?—“and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” We said, very quickly just at the end of the sermon, that this means that Paul expects Spirit-filled Christians (and that’s all of us, not just some special few) to manifest a self-denying, mutual submission for the purpose of mutual edification, out of reverence for Christ.
    Calvin puts it like this: “God has so bound us to each other, that no man ought to avoid subjection. And where love reigns, there is a mutual servitude. I do not except even kings and governors, for they rule that they may serve. Therefore it is very right that he should exhort all to be subject to each other. But as nothing is more contrary to the human spirit than to submit to others, he recalls us to the fear of Christ, who alone can tame our fierceness, that we may not refuse the yoke, and subdue our pride, that we may not be ashamed of serving our neighbors.”
    This mutual subjection, or mutual servitude, or mutual submission, is to characterize all the role relationships in God’s new community. Thus, those who rule, rule in love for the sake of service. Those who are led, follow in respect for the sake of service.
    This idea is so dramatically important, so counter-cultural, that we need to unpack it some. And we will, Lord willing, on Sunday morning. Read ahead. Pray ahead. Be here with hearts ready to be challenged by God’s Word.
    Do not miss Derek’s entry in the weblog (Re: Spurgeon on Audubon— here’s the link: http://fpcj.blogspot.com/2006/07/obsessed-by-one-thing-jesus.html). Let me slightly paraphrase and apply part of the quote to us all: “We need to muster a band of [Christians] who live only for Christ, and desire nothing but opportunities for promoting His glory ... for spreading His truth ... for winning by power those whom Jesus has redeemed by His precious blood. [People] of one idea . . . .”

July 21, 2006
Eleven Things the Bible Teaches about Itself

1. The Bible is God’s own word to us, and thus more than a merely human book. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.
2. The Bible is God-breathed. Its words are God’s exhaled words. What Scripture says, God says. 2 Timothy 3:16a 16 All Scripture is inspired by God . . . .
3. The Bible was written by human authors under the direction of God’s Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:19-21 19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
4. The Bible was written by human authors who used their skills and abilities. Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.
5. The Bible is God’s instruction to us on how we are to live this life. Psalm 119:105 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
6. The Bible teaches us the way of salvation. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
7. The Bible is indispensable—necessary to life itself, as needful as food to the body. Matthew 4:4 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”
8. The Bible is given to equip Christians for living the Christian life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. John 17:17 17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
9. The Bible is not a dead letter, but a living word—an active force in our life. Hebrews 4:12 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
10. The Bible’s message is clear and accessible to us. God is a good communicator! Deuteronomy 30:11-14 11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. 12 “It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 13 “Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 14 “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.
11. The Bible’s words and truth are eternally enduring. Isaiah 40:8 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. Mark 13:31 31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

 

June 2, 2006
The summer is officially underway at First Presbyterian, and as usual, we are not gearing down, but gearing up! Vacation Bible School is only a week away now, and this Sunday we will also have the commissioning of the Twin Lakes Summer Staff. Do greet them, their friends and families at the 11:00 o’clock service on Sunday morning. And pray for our VBS leadership and all the wonderful volunteers who make VBS happen.

Remember that in the next couple of weeks the passageway from the Study Center and Day School Office area, through Lowe Hall and into the “old building” where the Library and Nursery are, will be closed due to construction. Some rooms will be closed too. Stay tuned for news. As soon as the construction people let Earl Davis know, we’ll let you know.

What this means practically is that the only way to access the nursery will be through the entrance off North State Street, or the entrance via the Church Office. This means that we’ll have to go outside, or through the Youth House, to get to the Nursery or the church offices from the Study Center, or the temporary sanctuary, or Miller Hall.

We hope this part of the construction will be completed by mid-August, in time for the start of school. When they are done, we’ll have an enlarged kitchen for Lowe Hall, a new and wider bridge connecting Westminster Hall and the “old building,” new and improved men’s and women’s restroom facilities along the hall outside of the southeast door into the new sanctuary, and more. It will be nice. Thanks for your kindness and patience in the midst of the ongoing renovations and improvements.

If you are a college student and here for the summer, don’t miss out on the Summer RUF Bible Study, on Thursday evenings. We’ll be covering the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. Here’s the schedule.
June 8 - Nathan Tircuit - (RUF Miss. State) - Joel - @ First Pres College House 7:30-9:00
June 15 - Les Newsom (RUF Ole Miss) - Hosea - @ First Pres College House 7:30-9:00
June 22 - Ben Hailey (RUF Hinds CC) - Habakkuk - @ First Pres College House 7:30-9:00
June 29 - Brian Sorgenfrei (College Coordinator at FPC) - @ First Pres College House 7:30-9:00
July 6 - Tim Udouj (RUF Belhaven) - Micah - @ First Pres College House 7:30 - 9:00.
July 13 - Joey Wright (RUF Miss. College) - Haggai - @ First Pres College House 7:30-9:00
July 20 - Carl Kalbercamp (Pear Orchard PC) - Zechariah - @ First Pres College House 7:30-9:00
July 29 - Yours truly (First Pres) - Malachi - End-of-year party at the Sorgenfrei’s 6:30-8:30.

And while you are at it, check out our College Ministry website at http://www.fpccollege.org and also our Student Ministries website at http://www.fpcym.org/ —we hope you’ll find the information instructive, helpful, and encouraging.

By the way, there’s big news for our Pastoral Care Intern Jody Woodward. He has received a call as Pastor of the Raymond Presbyterian Church. Congratulations, Jody and Laurie! Meanwhile, my new intern Billy McMillan gave the children’s devotional on Sunday night and will be working alongside Jeremy Smith in the Ministers’ Office. Welcome aboard, Billy!

We’ll be in Ephesians 5:3-4 this coming Lord’s Day morning. Paul’s words have challenged and blessed us over these past five weeks, haven’t they? See you Sunday.

 

May 26, 2006
A month or so ago, I shared with our elders this excellent quote from John Piper’s book Contending for our All (Crossway). The book is superb and the quote is extremely helpful in this truth-challenged age. Read and learn.
    “Some controversy is crucial for the sake of life-giving truth. Running from it is a sign of cowardice. But enjoying it is usually a sign of pride. Some necessary tasks are sad, and even victory is not without tears—unless there is pride. The reason enjoying controversy is a sign of pride is that humility loves truth-based unity more than truth-based victory. Humility loves Christ-exalting exultation more than Christ-defending confrontation—even more than Christ-defending vindication. Humility delights to worship Christ in spirit and truth. If it must fight for worship-sustaining truth, it will, but that is not because the fight is pleasant. It’s not even because victory is pleasant. It’s because knowing and loving and proclaiming Christ for who he really is and what he really did is pleasant.
    “Indeed knowing and loving the truth of Christ is not only pleasant now, it is the only path to everlasting life and joy. That’s why Athanasius (298-373), John Owen (1616-1683), and J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937) took so seriously the controversies of their time. It was not what they liked; but it was what love required—love for Christ and his church and his world.
    “There are more immediately crucial tasks than controversy about the truth and meaning of the gospel. For example, it is more immediately crucial that we believe the gospel, and proclaim it to the unreached, and pray for power to attend the preaching of the gospel. But this is like saying that flying food to starving people is more immediately crucial than the science of aeronautics. True. But the food will not be flown to the needy if someone is not doing aeronautics. It is like saying that giving penicillin shots to children dying of fever is more immediately crucial than the work of biology and chemistry. True. But there would be no penicillin without such work.
    “In every age there is a kind of person who tries to minimize the importance of truth-defining and truth-defending controversy by saying that prayer, worship, evangelism, missions, and dependence on the Holy Spirit are more important. Who has not heard such rejoinders to controversy: “Let’s stop arguing about the gospel and get out there and share it with a dying world.” Or: “Prayer is more powerful than argument.” Or: “We should rely on the Holy Spirit and not on our reasoning.” Or: “God wants to be worshiped, not discussed.”
    “I love the passion for faith and prayer and evangelism and worship behind those statements. But when they are used to belittle gospel-defining, gospel-defending controversy they bite the hand that feeds them. Christ-exalting prayer will not survive in an atmosphere where the preservation and explanation and vindication of the teaching of the Bible about the prayer-hearing God are devalued. Evangelism and world missions must feed on the solid food of well-grounded, unambiguous, rich gospel truth in order to sustain courage and confidence in the face of afflictions and false religions. And corporate worship will be diluted with cultural substitutes where the deep, clear, biblical contours of God’s glory are not seen and guarded from ever-encroaching error.”
    Every Christian needs to know and remember what Piper says here. For Satan loves to rob us of the truth. So we must be prepared, with Athanasius, to “contend for our all.”

5/21/2006
We had a great turnout this past Sunday night as we said farewell to Joe and Hallie Holland and family. Joe is slated to be installed as an Associate Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Kosciusko, Mississippi, on Sunday evening, June 4. Joe has given us three years of faithful service to the students and families of First Presbyterian Church. It has been a personal privilege to know and labor with him.

I wrote to Joe this week and said: “I know that your youth staff, the youth into whom you poured your life, and the church family as a whole have been blessed by your ministry among us. You diligently applied the gifts the Lord has given you to this work, and we look in faith for His future prospering and building on the work you have done. The youth minister is often in the difficult position of being engaged in front-line ministry, but is rarely given the privilege of seeing that ministry take root and bear fruit in a short time. There is so often a great gulf of years between the watering and pruning, and the eventual results of that labor.
It is my prayer, friend, that your three years of ministry spent in the large and challenging field of First Presbyterian Church will be used by God to produce a generation of, godly, Christ-exalting, self-sacrificing, thoughtful, generous, and mature Christians. And that the Lord in His goodness will allow you to be able to see that fruit in due season, and to take satisfaction in the vital role you played.”

By the way, the news is now out that Grant Carroll is going to be joining Joe in Kosciusko as Youth Minister! That means that First Presbyterian Church, Kosciusko, will have an all former First Presbyterian youth staff members as its pastoral staff. Make us look good, guys!

We’ll be praying for God’s blessing on Grant and Camille as they transition to Kosciusko, have their first child, move house, finish seminary, make new friends, and begin ministering to a new flock. Nothing like a little change to raise the ole blood pressure!

It is so encouraging to come to the campus of 1390 North State Street and see the dramatic progress on the new sanctuary. Brick is going up on the south side of the sanctuary and new courtyard building, the roof is almost on, the new bridge and kitchen expansion work is proceeding apace—and we can begin to picture in our mind’s eye what it’s all going to look like. We’re halfway there, as the builders think we’ll be able to occupy the sanctuary by May 1, 2007.

By the way, you should know that once we get in the new sanctuary, it will take about four more months for the new organ to be built on-site, installed, and functioning. The organ builders will have to work six days a week for three months to assemble this glorious instrument. That means that it will probably be late September of 2007 before things will be fully operational in the sanctuary. It will also mean some continued inconveniences to us regarding weddings, funerals, and special events during the week.

Oh, and one other by-the-way—thanks for your strong giving in April; it helped us keep from going deeper into a negative cash flow. Overall giving is ahead of last year, but we are a little deeper in the red in cash flow because of increased expenses. The staff is doing a great job of keeping costs down, but we need your help in the summer. Please be as consistent and regular as possible in your giving to the church budget over the months of May, June, July, and August. If we could come out of the summer no deeper in the red than last year, it would bode well for our year-end, and for our financial position going into 2007.

5/11/2006
Thanks for your kind remarks and responses to the messages in Ephesians of late. I have found these sermons personally convicting to prepare and deliver, but encouraging at the same time. God’s word has certainly uncovered much sin in my heart and life as I’ve studied and preached through these searching passages, but it has also pointed me to God’s grace and given me hope. I trust that’s been your experience, too.

    I have had a number of emails and conversations in which folk have asked various questions relating to Paul’s exhortations in Ephesians 4:17-5:4, and the issues that they raise are so good and important that I want to mention one of them here. It is, “What ought to be our reaction to Paul’s commands here? Is he merely giving us a list of dos and don’ts, thus reducing Christianity to ‘being good’?” This is huge, because we live in a culture that is very concerned about keeping up external appearances, looking like everything’s okay, and covering up our sin and weakness. Is that what Paul is doing and is that what Paul wants us to do? No and no! Emphatically.

    First, we have repeatedly emphasized that Paul’s commands to us here are not some kind of legalism, but an expression of Gospel logic and the life of grace (see this sermon on Ephesians 4:25, on “Lying and the Glory of God” at the FPC website, if you need to think about this issue some more: http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/Ephesians/ephesians_4.25_28.htm

    Second, one of our responses to Paul’s exhortations here in Ephesians 4:25-5:4:

25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. 26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

is for us to stop pretending that we don’t struggle with real and serious sin, to get real about our sin-struggles and their impact on ourselves and the family of God’s people, and to seek God’s help in our sanctification. This will entail (among other things) acknowledging our sin and its seriousness, seeking forgiveness and being ready to give it as well as receive it, working for reconciliation, living a life of repentance, doing the hard relational work that goes along with really dealing with sin, and being patient with one another as we grapple with it. That is, at least in part, what it means to live out God’s grace. Unbelievers often try to “deal” with sin by covering it up or pretending it’s not there. We don’t. We acknowledge it and deal with it, with the help of God’s grace.

3/24/2006
By the time you read this, the Jackson edition of the PCRT—the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology—will be here! This weekend, starting Friday night, continuing all day Saturday (and with a Sunday morning message by Bob Godfrey at Trinity PCA), the PCRT will be hosted at the site of our sister-congregation, the Trinity Presbyterian Church on Old Canton Road (they are in the old Christ United Methodist Church facility).
    So, if you’ve no plans, pick up and go, and register at the door! The cost is less than $100. This year’s speakers include: Sinclair Ferguson (Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, and professor at Westminster Seminary), Robert Godfrey (President of Westminster Seminary in California), Philip Ryken (Senior Minister of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA, successor to Jim Boice, and preacher for the national radio program “Every Last Word”), Richard Phillips (Senior Minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Coral Springs in Margate, Florida), our own Derek Thomas, and yours truly. By the way, PCA church member, and Governor of the State of Mississippi, Haley Barbour will bring greetings at this event on Friday evening, March 24! Hope to see you there.
    This reminds me that word is out that Mike Ross is resigning as pastor of Trinity PCA to take another church. I’ll tell you more about that as the exciting details become clear. Do remember to pray for our friends at Trinity.
Derek’s sermon on this past Sunday evening was extraordinary. Focusing on Peter’s denials, Derek did a searching exposition of the place of struggle and failure in Christian discipleship. If you missed it, you need to get the CD or tape, or listen to the MP3 online.
    I continue to be encouraged by the pace of construction here at the First Presbyterian campus. Many of the massive girders are up, which will one day provide part of the frame of the new sanctuary. The new electrical works have been completed and installed. We’re beginning to see the block walls arise on the north sanctuary side, and we can already view the form of the south sanctuary windows. Do continue your giving to this important work. Do you realize that we still owe no money on the project, and about half of what was pledged 10 months ago has already been given?! God is good. If we can keep up our giving pace on the sanctuary, we can drastically reduce the total cost of the project.
    There’s good news on the missions giving front, too. Faith Promise is right around $950,000 in commitments, just $50,000 shy of our goal with fewer cards than last year! If you haven’t committed, do so now.
    Regarding the annual ministry budget, we are already well behind our spending. Giving has been sluggish in February and March. If the congregation gave $500,000 every month evenly, regularly, faithfully, we’d never have a cash-flow crunch. Help us there. If we can balance the budget this year, or at least match spending by giving, the financial prospects of the church for 2007 and beyond are very good. So, if you are behind on your regular giving to the church, catch up and keep up. It really makes a huge difference to what we are able to do ministry-wise.
    The Twin Lakes Fellowship is just a week away. I’ll tell you about that next week.

3/10/2006
Lord’s Day worship at First was special. Three packed services. And we were all blessed by Mike Campbell’s powerful exposition of God’s word in our Lord’s Day evening service. As you all know, Mike is the gifted pastor of Redeemer Church here in Jackson. It was also a delight to have so many members of his congregation worshiping with us. Mike urged us to hunger and thirst for righteousness by longing for happiness (in the full, biblical sense), longing for holiness, and longing for heaven. It was a masterpiece of exegesis and homiletic—delivered with power and passion.
    This past Friday and Saturday, I had the privilege of being with John MacArthur and his team, and the good folks of Grace Community Church at their 25th annual Shepherds’ Conference. 3500 pastors were in attendance. The singing was marvelous. The spirit was joyous and encouraging. Among other things, I was able to meet a colleague whom I have long admired but never met—Steve Lawson (former pastor of the Dauphin Way Baptist Church). What a dear, brave and godly servant of the Lord. Steve is just a few miles down the road in Mobile, and I hope to fellowship with him in days to come. R.C. Sproul was there, and brought his A-game for his message on Romans 1 on Friday night—powerful and timely. Al Mohler’s Saturday morning talk was vintage Al. Densely packed exposition, deftly applied, which searching cultural analysis, engagement and critique. He just needed another hour! I spoke about why teaching on biblical manhood and womanhood is essential for healthy discipleship in the local church. I also got to see my brothers for a few moments. John and Mel both work for Ligonier Ministries. I even got to fly back from LA to Atlanta with my brother Mel, and walk to our next departure gate together. Fun.
    I hope that many of you will plan to attend the PCRT—the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology here in Jackson, on March 24-25—just a couple of weekends away. The PCRT is the longest-running national conference on Reformed Theology in America. It was started by the late, great James Montgomery Boice of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA (and speaker for the national radio program “The Bible Study Hour”), and brings a slate of noted pastors and teachers to a few select church sites across the country each year. Since their inauguration in 1974, these conferences have attracted overflow audiences, and introduced speakers like R.C. Sproul and Eric Alexander to a wider national audience.
    Well, this year, for the first time ever, the PCRT is going to be held here in Jackson, MS! Our sister-congregation, the Trinity Presbyterian Church on Old Canton Road will host (they are in the old Christ United Methodist Church facility) this anticipated event on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25, 2006. Register now! Call 1-800-956-2644. This year’s speakers include: Sinclair Ferguson (Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC and professor at Westminster Seminary), Robert Godfrey (President of Westminster Seminary in California), Philip Ryken (Senior Minister of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA, successor to Jim Boice, and preacher for the national radio program “Every Last Word”), Richard Phillips (Senior Minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Coral Springs in Margate, Florida), and yours truly. Brochures are available at the church offices. By the way, PCA church member and Governor Haley Barbour will bring greetings at this event on Friday evening! Hope to see you there.

3/5/2006
We have just enjoyed an extraordinary time at our annual First Presbyterian Church Missions Conference. First of all, the preaching of David Meredith came with peculiar power. David’s messages were brave, searching, pastoral, clear, Christ-centered, full of grace, urged us to dependence on the supernatural power of God’s Holy Spirit, and boldly challenged us to the work of missions. Every one of his sermons was uniquely appropriate for us. If you missed any of them, I’d urge you to get the tapes/CDs or download the MP3s. You may not have known of David before the conference, but having heard him, you won’t forget him. Thank you, David, for being with us, and thank you dear friends at Smithton-Culloden in Inverness, Scotland, for allowing us to have your dear and gifted pastor for a few days to spur us on to love and good deeds.
    Second, we had a tremendous faculty of missionaries. Did you know that we’ve supported Don and Sue Gahagen for over forty years! What a blessing to us it is to have that long-standing relation. Did you know that we’ve supported Ellen Barnett for over thirty years? That’s the way it ought to be. Getting behind good and faithful missionaries and sticking with them all the way through!
    Third, the missionary reports and classroom visits were exceptional. From Peggy Mackey’s interview of Oscar Muiriu back on Sunday night, February 19, to Tim Barton and Bruce Wannamacher’s reports on Sunday morning, February 26, at the early service, to Al Baker and Dave Veldhorst’s reports later that same morning, to Sal Pelicano and Keith Berger’s reports that night, the missionary reports were inspiring, informative, exhortational, and encouraging.
Fourth, our fun run and cookout on Saturday morning went on despite the drizzle, and included a number of helpful reports relating to our local outreach and ministry through Mission to Jackson (MTJ). Thanks to all who made this happen, and to all who attended (a remarkable crowd – despite weather and basketball tournaments!).
    Brothers and sisters, we need to pray for these missionaries. For instance, our new friends the Veldhorsts are doing hard, but good work in Bangkok, Thailand; but the spiritual opposition is formidable. They describe sharing the Gospel there as “sowing seed on concrete.” We must call on the Sovereign to soften hearts, shield them with His protection, strengthen them with His Spirit, and bless them with fruit.
If you didn’t commit to pray for a missionary this year via Faith Promise, reconsider. Call the church office and sign up for someone. And then faithfully pray year-round. And write them notes or emails of encouragement!
    And friends, consider going. We are praying for people to uproot and go to the mission field. We are praying for members to serve short term for a couple of years. We are praying for many to go on summer missions trips. Don’t just be willing to go, but planning to stay. Be planning to go! Remember, our Missions Conference theme this year is “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8). Let’s mean it.
    Don’t fail to submit a Faith Promise commitment in financial support of missions. I want to encourage each person in the church to give to the work of missions, even sacrificially. We ask that families pray together and consider how each member will contribute to worldwide missions. More cards will be available in the church tract racks and at the entrances to the temporary sanctuary for folks who have yet to make a commitment. Also, do keep the brochure of our Ministries and Missionaries that we mailed out to the congregation. Keep it in your Bible or close-to-hand as a prayer reminder. Use it to pray for missions and missionaries year-round.
 

January 20, 2006
What a blessed Lord’s Day we enjoyed together, from Communion in the morning services, to Communicants Class during Sunday School, to sweet fellowship in the Word in the evening service. I have been looking forward to getting to Ephesians 3:14-19 for some time, and we seemed to connect, you and I, as we launched into the deeps of this great passage. And then, Psalm 83 on Sunday night, though a hard psalm, an imprecatory psalm, seemed to yield its fruits to us in a uniquely powerful way.
    But, boy, am I looking forward to Derek’s return from South Africa! I have missed him and his preaching, and can’t wait until he starts back in the Gospel of Mark on this Sunday evening. Pray for him, for travel mercies, for spiritual and physical refreshment and for unction as he preaches.
Now, I announced on Sunday and mentioned in last week’s Pastor’s Perspective that God has showered His blessings on us financially during December and that we’d entered the New Year in the black, and more. Well, it’s even better than that. December was the largest month of giving in the church’s history. More was given to the church in the month of December 2005 than in the whole year of 1995 (the year before I came to First Pres, just a decade ago!). Your generosity has given us great encouragement as we move into two challenging years, 2006 and 2007, in terms of church budget and financing. Let me tell you a little about the impact of your giving, and the importance of your continued faithful giving even in this young, new year.
    First, we have been able to pay cash for sanctuary expansion to this point. We have already spent about $2.62 million on sanctuary expansion in 2005. Because you have faithfully and timely paid your pledges, we don’t owe a dime at this point. You have already saved the church thousands and thousands of dollars on interest, and lessened the total cost of the project, because of your giving. Now, in the first six months of 2006 we probably are looking at about 3 million in sanctuary expansion expenses. As we give toward our commitments, it keeps us from borrowing, so let’s keep it up from January to June of this year. By your giving, you can save the church $23,000 a month in interest payments!
    Second, we have aggressively reduced capital debt because of your faithful giving. We now owe less than $1.8 million on the Twin Lakes expansion (which is ahead of where we wanted to be in terms of debt retirement at this point). If you give over and above to debt retirement this year, and we pay what we have budgeted for debt reduction on Twin Lakes capital expansion, we can enter 2007 with less than a million dollars debt remaining! This gives us a fighting chance to eradicate that debt in 2008. Wouldn’t that be a blessing?
    Third, we have broken all records in terms of missions giving. We’ve been praying to exceed a million dollars in Faith Promise giving for several years and we’ve now done that and more, with three months of giving left!
    Let me say again, though, this is not a time to rest on our laurels. We need to be a mindset to give generously and sacrificially to the church for the next two or three years. If we do, we can set a course for the financial future of the church that is downright exhilarating. If we don’t, we could find ourselves up to our necks easily.
    I also want to stress again that your every gift mattered, whether large and small, surplus and sacrifice. We really should give extravagant praise to our generous God—from whom all these blessings have flown. The Lord has not just been faithful to us—He has been lavish, extravagant, prodigal. God is good.
Men, let me remind you again, mark your calendars for the Mid-South Men’s Rally, Friday night, January 28, 2006. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals Council member will be here as our speaker. Al is a national radio host, and major evangelical leader—he is also a dear friend—and we are thrilled that he is coming.

January 12, 2006
Happy New Year! 2006 promises to be a full, challenging, and exciting year at First; but before I get to that, permit me a few reflections on the year past. 2005 came to a remarkable conclusion here at First Presbyterian Church. Our services, your giving, our media, and more, have been quite extraordinary.
    The memories of our corporate worship the whole of December will linger with me for some time, I think. Derek and I loved preaching through the Scriptures of the “Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” (but I must say that Derek’s second sermon on Mark’s account of Jesus’ teaching on the Last Days, which Derek preached on a Wednesday night late in November, was the best message I’ve ever heard on eschatology). The Christmas music surpassed our expectations, especially with the choir coping with the acoustically challenging temporary sanctuary. From our sentimental favorite processional hymn “Once in Royal David’s City” to “Masters in This Hall” all the way to the Postlude, two full services of “Lessons and Carols” on December 18 evening, enriched our experience of Christmas joy. We are deeply appreciative of and indebted to Bill Wymond, Connie Wadsworth, the Choir and Orchestra. Thank you friends!
    Then, our annual Family Christmas Eve service on Saturday, December 24, was bursting at the seams. I wondered what attendance would be like with so much going on, in our temporary quarters and with three services coming on Sunday/Christmas Day. But it was SRO—Standing Room Only(!), and a wonderful electricity was about the place. We didn’t have enough bulletins, chairs, or hymnals; but you were cheerful and understanding. What a blessing to carol to God with you all.
    You totally surprised me on Christmas Sunday morning. With so many churches closing shop on Christmas Day, and many others only running one service, I didn’t know what expect. But I did think that the 9 o’clock morning service would be light. Boy, was I wrong. Two full morning services (the 9 a.m. even fuller than the 11), followed by a glorious Sunday evening service (ably preached by Derek, and planned for Lowe Hall but held in the temporary sanctuary, because too many came to be accommodated in Lowe!), brought much Gospel gladness to our hearts.
    December giving was once again huge. I don’t know any other way to put it. We came into the month almost $900,000 in the red and we’ve entered the New Year in the black, and more. Every gift mattered, large and small, surplus and sacrifice. We balanced our giving and spending on ministry, we gave amply to debt reduction, we gave generously to the sanctuary expansion and missions, as well as to special giving, like Katrina Relief. Let me pause right here and now, to thank you, and to praise God—from whom all blessings flow. The Lord has again been faithful to us, and I for one do not take it for granted. I’ll report more on this later as the details become available.
    Some of you are regular visitors to our church’s website www.fpcjackson.org  and weblog http://fpcj.blogspot.com  —and if you aren’t I’d encourage you to become one, and to visit regularly—they provide much useful information so that you can keep up with what is going on. These are remarkable resources, and they are getting remarkable usage. The church website averages over 22,500 visitors a month—averages! The weblog, though we have only had it up and running for a few months, and have done almost no publicity on it, is averaging 100 visitors per day, and has had almost 12,000 unique visitors view/read it in just the last few months.
    We start the new year with a bang. Men, mark your calendars for the Mid-South Men’s Rally, Friday night, January 27, 2006. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals Council member, will be here as our speaker. Al is a national radio host, and major evangelical leader—he is also a dear friend—and we are thrilled that he is coming.
    Then, in February, it is Missions Conference time! This year’s speaker is also a good friend—David Meredith. David is the Minister of the Smithton-Culloden Free Church of Scotland congregation, near Inverness, Scotland, and is a respected pastor and church-planter, who understands God’s designs in missions, and who has been greatly used to bring people to Christ. He graduated in English and Politics from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, and then from the Free Church College in Edinburgh in 1984. Since going to Inverness he has had the privilege of seeing the congregation at Smithton grow from 20 to 350. He has also enjoyed a wider ministry at Conferences and churches in other parts of the UK and is a well-known figure in Scottish Evangelical circles. David has preached frequently at our sister church in Memphis—the Independent Presbyterian Church—and is a favorite there. I am awaiting his messages with eager anticipation!
Finally, in March, Jackson will be the host of the PCRT—the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology! Started by the late, great James Montgomery Boice of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA (and speaker for the national radio program “The Bible Study Hour”), the PCRT brings a slate of noted pastors and teachers to a few select church sites across the country each year. Since their inauguration in 1974, these conferences have attracted overflow audiences, and introduced speakers like R.C. Sproul and Eric Alexander to a wider national audience.
    For the first time ever, the PCRT will be held here in Jackson, MS. Trinity Presbyterian Church on Old Canton Road will host (they are in the old Christ United Methodist Church facility) this anticipated event on March 24-25, 2005. Register now! Call 1-800-956-2644.

Well, tempus fugit. Time does fly, and hard to grasp for me as it is, we’ve come to the last First Epistle and the last Pastor’s Perspective column of the year of our Lord, 2005. Indeed, unbelievable to me as it seems, our entrance into 2006 will bring with it the tenth year of my service in your midst. September of 2006 will mark a decade of ministry here at First Presbyterian Church. It has been a sheer delight to be a part of your life and to minister the Word of God here.
    There is much to say and remind you of, so let me get right to it. We entered this month about $867,000 in the red, as to our church’s ministry budget. In other words, our income has fallen short of our ministry expenses by almost a million dollars! We have just over two weeks to correct this shortfall. So, let me urge you to faithfulness in giving during these final few days of the year. There are two things, in particular, that I want to emphasize. First, let me ask you to catch up on and fulfill your giving to the church for this year. We entered this month with our largest ever negative cash flow. We will have to make that up in the next fifteen or so days in order to finish the year in the black. So, please be mindful of this in your year-end giving. Second, let me challenge our faithful givers to give over and above, in light of the church’s needs. Give over and above to debt retirement. Give over and above to the budget. Give over and above to the sanctuary expansion. Give over and above to missions. We need all of our congregation members to become faithful in giving. If you are not giving to First Presbyterian Church, or are not giving what you are able to give, determine to begin right now. Make a commitment for 2006, and start your giving right now.
    Second, remember that this year’s Music of Christmas is at 4:00 and 6:00 o’clock p.m. on this coming Sunday, December 18, in our temporary sanctuary. A nursery will be provided. Our December sermon series on the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols should have helped you gain a new appreciation for the content of this beloved annual Christmas tradition here at First Presbyterian. Be here and bring friends!
    Third, on Saturday, December 24, we will have our annual Christmas Eve family carol service. As you know, this is a special time of singing and joy.
Fourth, for the first time in a dozen years, Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. While some churches are closing their doors, we will be gathering for glorious worship of the Word made flesh! Can you imagine missing the chance to sing “Yea, Lord we greet thee, born this happy morning” on Christmas Day?! What a loss it would be, not to be in the Lord’s House. What a blessing, delight and pleasure it will be to be here with you, serving the Lord and rejoicing in the incarnation.
We are, however, changing our schedule a bit to help families with their celebration of this wonder-full day. Their will be no Sunday School (which will free up the Sunday morning schedule of dozens and dozens of adults who work with our children). The early morning service will move from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 o’clock a.m.. We will have morning services at 9:00 and 11:00 o’clock, and then we will have a shortened 6:00 o’clock p.m. family worship service (you’ll be ready to get out of the house again by then, for sure!). So, all of our families can sit together in the morning and evening services (nurseries will be provided for younger ones) and carol to God, and revel in His redeeming love.
    One last thing, in the New Year we will return to our series on Ephesians on Sunday mornings, while our study in the third book of the Psalms will temporarily resume on Sunday evenings before moving to Wednesday night in mid-January. At that same time Derek will pick up his series on the Gospel of Mark—which will return to Sunday evening once he’s back from South Africa.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

November 17, 2005
Well, here we are, coming towards the end of another year, bearing down on Thanksgiving, with a thousand things on our minds and even more on our calendars. Do slow down long enough to enjoy one another and your families. Life is short. And enjoy the songs of this season, too. Don’t forget our Thanksgiving Day morning service (Thursday, November 24 at 8:30 a.m.)!
    Now, several other things, quickly. First – since our annual Commitment Sunday back on November 6 (the Sunday on which we make our pledges for the material support of the church’s work and worship for the coming year) almost 400 families in the church have pledged almost $3,000,000 towards the 2006 operating and benevolence budget. Thank you. But don’t stop praying. And for those of you who have yet to pledge, don’t fail to do so. Last year almost 600 families in the church pledged (and if everyone pledged that number would be around 1000 or so).
    Second, let me say that it is the prayer of your ministers, elders, and deacons that more individuals and families in our church will become faithful givers. For while we have seen the total amount of giving increase dramatically over the last fifteen years at First, we have also seen the numbers of pledgers and givers decrease. Clearly, there are many in the congregation who have caught a vision for biblical giving and so are giving more, much more. But, at the same time, there are many in the congregation who are not pledging and/or giving significantly or even giving at all. Less than half of our congregation pledges (and statistically, pledgers give more to the church per capita than non-pledgers). So please, if you have not made a pledge, do so this coming Sunday or as soon as possible.
    Third, as I suggested last week, use your pledge as a motivation and instrument for deliberate, purposeful giving. Use it as a target to shoot for and exceed. Use it as a tool for more consistent regular and monthly giving. Use your pledge as a device for measuring your increase over past giving. And be timely in handing in your card. Let’s complete the commitment process as swiftly as possible. We long to see the whole membership participating in the financial support of the work of the church. That’s one thing that you are vowing when you “promise to support the Church, in its worship and work, to the best of your ability” in your membership vows.
    Fourth, let’s not forget that we have a cash flow deficit of about $790,000 to erase in the final six weeks of this year. But don’t be discouraged by that. Instead, let’s determine to surpass the church budget again this year. That will mean all of us doing our share, and some of us giving sacrificially, and even over and above previous commitments to ensure the full support of the church’s work and witness. Let us not bring an offering to the Lord that costs us nothing.
    Fifth and finally, this coming Lord’s Day morning we will study a glorious text from Ephesians 2:19-22. Matthew Henry’s wonderful commentary has this to say about that passage: “The church is compared to a city, and every converted sinner is free in it. It is also compared to a house, and every converted sinner is one of the family; a servant, and a child in God’s house. The church is also compared to a building, founded on the doctrine of Christ; delivered by the prophets of the Old Testament, and the apostles of the New. God dwells in all believers now; they become the temple of God through the working of the blessed Spirit. Let us then ask if our hopes are fixed on Christ, according to the doctrine of His word? Have we devoted ourselves as holy temples to God through Him? Are we habitations of God by the Spirit, are we spiritually-minded, and do we bring forth the fruits of the Spirit? Let us take heed not to grieve the holy Comforter. Let us desire His gracious presence, and His influences upon our hearts. Let us seek to discharge the duties allotted to us, to the glory of God.”
 

November 10, 2005
If you weren’t able to hear the two messages on stewardship from the last two Sunday mornings, I’d encourage you to get a copy, read and listen (they can also be read or heard via the church website: http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/Topical_Seasonal%20%20Sermons/stewardship/index.htm ). It is the season of the year when we commit ourselves to the support of the church’s ministry for the year to come, and it is also a crucial time for us as we attempt to meet the expenses of this present year’s budget. Let me remind you where we are just now.
We had a strong October of giving. I had feared that we might be as deep as $850,000 in the red in terms of negative cash flow entering into November, but it turns out that, in God’s mercy and by your faithfulness, that number is not as bad as it could have been. Right now, we are $786,969 in the negative in terms of cash flow. That’s deeper than we’ve ever been before, but if we all give faithfully and sacrificially during the last weeks of the year, we still have a chance to overcome it and eradicate our giving-spending deficit. More on that later.
    Meanwhile, this past Lord’s Day (November 6, 2005), we had the opportunity to provide our church with a Stewardship Commitment Card indicating the amount we expect to give towards the 2006 Operating and Benevolent Budget of First Presbyterian Church, as well as to pledge support (over and above our tithe) towards Debt Retirement. Your pledge and subsequent giving towards the 2006 Operating and Benevolent Budget, supports the ministry and charity of the church. The funds that you pledge and give towards Debt Retirement will be applied—dollar for dollar—to reduce the outstanding principal on the church debt (presently our indebtedness is just over $2,000,000 and relates to Twin Lakes Capital Expansion). The Debt Retirement monies do not go to Sanctuary Expansion—that is a separate line of giving.
    I hope more members than ever before will make a pledge this year. If you forgot to bring your 2006 personalized commitment card this past Lord’s Day, bring it this Sunday and come prepared to turn it in as an act of worship during the offering in the morning or evening services. If you did not receive a 2006 commitment card in the mail or have lost your personalized card, they will be available at the entrance tables of the temporary sanctuary, in tract racks throughout the church, or you may ask an usher to provide you with one.
    For now, I want to mention a few ways that I use our system of pledging to provide discipline and motivation for my own giving to the church. Perhaps it will give you some ideas that will help you become a more cheerful and effective giver.
    1. Use the pledge to help increase your annual giving – By making a pledge based on my income, and comparing it with what I made, pledged and gave last year, and determining to increase my amount of giving to the church each year, I am enabled more systematically to enlarge my giving. I also look at the percentage increase of the church budget and try to make sure my increase in giving keeps up with or outpaces that increase.
    2. Use the pledge to help manage your annual giving – Not all of us are paid evenly throughout the year on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. But some of us are, and those of us who are able to give weekly to the church (and not just in large lump sums at the end of the year) have a crucial role to play in enabling the church to have a dependable operating cash flow for ministry. I use the pledge to figure what I need to aim to give monthly to the church, and then every year I try to pay the total amount earlier than the year before. Then, the rest of the year I can give over and above my pledge.
    3. Use the pledge to commit yourself to debt retirement – Everyone who gives to the Operating Budget of the church is helping to reduce both the principal and interest owed on the church’s debt. But not everyone gives over and above the tithe to help more rapidly reduce the church’s indebtedness. However, over the last five years or so, a good number of folks have given over a million dollars to eradicating the church’s indebtedness. As a consequence, we’ve paid less interest and less burden is placed on the church budget. If you have never given to debt retirement before, over and above your tithe, use the pledge to get yourself involved in helping the church in this way.

Your friend,

Ligon

November 3, 2005
We are so proud of Barbara Porter and Jimmy Turner, we could pop! Barbara, our Associate Children’s Director, has been named the Bettye Quinn Education Award winner at Belhaven College. This award was instituted at Belhaven College in 2002 and is awarded to an alumnus/a who has been a leader in the field of education.  The recipient exemplifies Belhaven’s motto, “To serve, not to be served” in his/her career, community, and church.

            In her twenty years as a first-grade teacher at FPDS and now in her work at the church, Barbara has exemplified this servant nature mixed with creativity. We thank God for the joyful diligence she demonstrates in her work with our children and for the godly influence she has had on both our lives and theirs.

She has been recognized for the good reflection she has made of her alma mater. More than that, though, she has glorified God, as she has assisted and continues to assist others in bringing their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4).

Barbara will be recognized during Belhaven’s Homecoming 2005, November 3-5. For more information visit: http://www.belhaven.edu/Alumni/homecoming.htm

And Jimmy Turner, our former Assistant Pastor and currently the Area Director of CMDA, has been named Belhaven Alumnus of the Year, and deservedly so. Jimmy Turner was born in Louisville, MS, where he grew up surrounded by a loving family. He attended Rhodes College, and then graduated in 1958 from Belhaven College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. The following two years, he served as Youth Director at First Presbyterian Church, Kosciusko, MS.

Jimmy studied at Columbia Theological Seminary, and upon graduation became the first Minister of Youth at First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS. For eight years, Jimmy’s Tuesday night high school Bible Study was attended by 150 kids from churches throughout the city. Many from this ministry went into the ministry – Rev. Ric Cannada, President of Reformed Theological Seminary, Rev. Andy Wells, Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Rev. Clay Quarterman, missionary in Eastern Europe. The Youth House was built during his years at First Pres and the concept of youth retreats was introduced. Bible study, discipleship, and evangelism became Jimmy’s focus.

God led Jimmy to Main Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, MS, as Associate Minister. In 1972, Jimmy, Ford Williams, and Mark Lowrey met in the Turner’s Columbus home to brainstorm concepts that would later become the foundation s of the Reformed University Ministries. During these years in Columbus, Jimmy started a Bible study at the chapel on the Mississippi State campus, which was the beginning of Mississippi’s first campus ministry to be officially named RUF.

In 1974, he received a call to Trinity Presbyterian Church, Montgomery, AL. Jimmy served there for four years as Minister of Youth. In 1978, Jimmy accepted the challenge of starting a Reformed University Ministry on the Ole Miss campus. For ten years Jimmy served as campus minister, often having the weekly large group Bible study attended by 200 students. Small group Bible studies and discipleship were emphasized. A number of the students from Ole Miss have gone into the ministry and are serving in churches and ministries throughout the US.

In 1988, God led Jimmy to First Presbyterian Church, Columbia SC as Associate Minister. IN 1991, Jimmy was honored by members of the Senate of South Carolina for his outstanding work among young people in SC. Again, God led him to First Presbyterian Church, Clarksdale, MS, as Associate Minister.

In 1995, Jimmy returned to Jackson as Area Director of Christian Medical and Dental Association on the University Medical Center campus. This unique ministry opportunity to medical, dental, nursing, and health-related professionals includes weekly large group Bible studies of 100 students, small group studies, one-on-one discipleship, marriage counseling, and yearly medical mission trips to Mexico. Jimmy considers this ministry a great challenge as he seeks to use Scripture to change the hearts of health care professionals.

Jimmy is married to Ellen White who graduated from Belhaven in 1967. Jimmy and Ellen have three children and six grandchildren.

Jimmy and Barbara, we love, esteem, and appreciate you both!

October 27, 2005
I want to encourage those of you who have internet access to make use of the significant offerings by First Presbyterian staff on the web.
    First of all there is our church website— www.fpcjackson.org  — New material is added almost daily. Go to recent updates and see for yourself. What you may not know about the site is that you can listen to many and/or read transcripts of almost all our sermons via our website. Try it out and don’t hesitate to ask the staff for help to get you started.
    Also, we have a weblog full of helpful material that is updated daily.. You can access the weblog from the church’s website homepage or directly at—
http://pcj.blogspot.com/

For instance, recently we’ve featured these interesting posts:

Today’s Youth and Their View of God. Brad Mercer has just reminded me of an important resource for all those interested in ministering to our students.
You can view the information on this widely-reported new research at http://www.youthandreligion.org/ One part of telling the truth to this generation is understanding its mindset and assumptions about God and the world. This interesting study uncovers some fascinating aspects of the beliefs of American teenagers. Christian Smith calls them “Moralistic, therapeutic, deists.”Wow. We’ve mentioned this work to you before, but it’s worth highlighting again.

Important Issue for Parents of Teenagers. Today’s Family Research Council “Culture Facts” email includes the following article. It raises some very important issues for Christian parents in our Northeast Jackson culture. Read and reflect. Here’s the link – http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=CU05J15&f=CU05J18&t=e

Prom: What’s the Responsible Choice? Issue No. 22, by James Sunday.  The recent decision by Principal Kenneth M. Hoagland of Kellenberg Memorial High School on Long Island to cancel the spring prom has created a whirlwind of controversy. In a letter to parents this fall, Principal Hoagland stated his primary reason for canceling the prom: “It is not primarily the sex/booze/drugs that surround this event, as problematic as they might be; it is rather the flaunting of affluence, assuming exaggerated expenses, a pursuit of vanity for vanity’s sake—in a word, financial decadence.”

Not Emerging. The so-called “Emerging (or Emergent) Church” is all the rage in some circles of evangelicalism today. Another fad, like bell-bottoms, this too shall pass. Don Carson has written an excellent book on the subject, if you are interested (it’s called Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church).
Christianity Today recently interviewed James MacDonald of the Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, who had this to say
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2005/10/why_james_macdo.html  -very interesting.

Then, of course, there is the Reformation21 web magazine edited by our own Derek Thomas. You can visit it at www.reformation21.org —again, it is well worth your perusal.
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October 20, 2005
Last week, I commented that here in mid-October, with our Stewardship commitment from 2006 coming up (Sunday, November 6, 2005), we find ourselves about $767,000 in the red in terms of cash flow for this year. In other words, a lot less money has come into the church’s ministry budget than has gone out, or to put it the other way around, we have spent over three quarters of a million dollars more than we have received at this point of the year for the support of ministry. Now we have had negative cash flows of around a half million dollars before and still finished the year in the black. But we have never been this deep in the red before. Our current cash flow deficit is about $250,000 deeper than we have ever experienced. If historical patterns continue, then it could reach a total of around $850,000 by November 1, 2005 (or about $350,000 more than we have experienced before). If that happens, we will probably have exhausted our reserves, and serious budget cuts and constraints will have to be taken for the remainder of the year, and the 2006 budget might have to be cut, as well.
Nevertheless, last week I also said that I am actually excited about this challenge. I think it is so good for our congregation. I gave you a little taste of why on Sunday morning, but let me elaborate here.
    First, our current cash-flow deficit is not the result of a failure of generosity. We are not in our present financial situations because you are not giving. In fact, your giving is comparable to (or even a little better than) last year at this time. Giving to the ministry budget (which includes operating and benevolent expenses) is only a few thousand dollars behind your pace of giving last year. Faith Promise giving is also strong at this point of the year, and looks to be on track to meet what was committed to missions and evangelism for 2005-2006. Additionally, the congregation has not only pledged, but also already generously given to the church’s sanctuary expansion costs. So, when you take into account your giving to missions and sanctuary expansion, we have probably had more given to the church by the congregation this year than at this time last year.
    The key here is for us all to remember the importance of our regular, undesignated giving/tithing to the basic church budget. For us to meet our expenses this year, the congregation will need to give about 6% more to the ministry budget of the church than we did last year. With 100 new families added to the church this year, and all of us doing our part, this is not the impossible dream—but a very doable challenge.
    Second, our cash-flow deficit is significantly related to our aggressive debt retirement. While it is nearly impossible to know all the factors involved in church giving, we do know several things for certain. The major thing is this: the church is paying off the Twin Lakes Conference Center capital expansion to the tune of about $50,000 a month. That is an expense that we were not having to carry last year, and accounts for much of the difference between this year’s and last year’s cash- flow status at this time of the year. The good news in this is that the conference center expansion, only just completed in the spring, is already half-paid for, and at this rate will be paid off completely in about three years.
    Again, however, this puts a squeeze on the church’s ministry budget (which is already pretty lean when it comes to the church program). So unless we make up for the extra demands by generous giving, our ministry here in the local church will be hampered.
    Third, our cash-flow deficit gives us a unique opportunity to trust in God and walk by faith. First Presbyterian is blest with so many generous members that we are rarely stretched in our sense of utter dependence upon God and moved to give in a truly sacrificial way in support of the ministry of the church. And those are two exceedingly good things. It is good for us to be in a spot in which we must completely depend on the Lord to provide. It is good for us not to presume or expect the budget to be met routinely, year after year. It is good to have to look hard at our budget and ask if certain things need to be cut. It is good for members to have to give beyond their comfort zone because they are committed to the work of God through the ministry of the local church, and they count it a privilege to be able to sacrifice their own comforts for kingdom gains. These things are exceedingly good, and so this situation is –to me– exciting. It’s an opportunity for us to take stock, make healthy changes, sacrifice in order to support ministry, and to be utterly dependent on God. What a blessing!

October 14, 2005
Well, here we are in mid-October, with our Stewardship commitment time coming up (Sunday, November 6, 2005) for 2006— when we indicate what we will give toward the support of the church’s ministry for the year to come. And we find ourselves about $767,000 in the red in terms of cash flow for this year, already. This year’s church ministry budget is set at $6,401,409. So that means our current cash flow deficit is equal to about 12% of the total budget. Let me try to put that into perspective.
    For many, many years now (twenty or more?), First Presbyterian Church has run a negative cash flow for much of the calendar year, the negative cash flow becomes sizeable by say June-November, and then member-giving catches that cash flow up in December, so that, when all is said and done, the church budget is met and giving is greater than spending. Over the last ten years, as our church budget has gotten larger, so also has the cash flow deficit. All during this time, First Presbyterian has always finished the year in the black, and has usually met or exceeded the budget. But the increase in the size and duration of our negative cash flows has, understandably, made our officers nervous over time—especially this year. They plan as best as they can. They trust God to provide. And they know he always has in the past. But they do not want to presume upon your giving or God’s blessing, nor do they want to be unwise stewards of the Lord’s resources. This year this concern is particularly acute, for several reasons.
    We basically lost two Sundays worth of giving in August/September because of Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita. We have, individually and corporately, devoted significant funds and energy to Katrina-relief that were not factored in to our current budget. We are in the middle of a major building program, to which many of you are giving generously and even sacrificially. We are also in the home stretch of paying off the most recent Twin Lakes Conference Center capital expansion (to the tune of about $50,000 a month). All of these things compounded make a big chunk to bite off for any church—no matter its resources.
Not all the news is bad, by any stretch. Giving to the church’s ministry budget is about the same this year as last year (despite all the extraordinary things we’ve gone through in the last month and a half), and that should greatly encourage us. Faith Promise giving is also strong at this point of the year, and looks to be on track to meet what was committed to missions and evangelism for 2005-2006.
    That having been said, our current cash flow deficit is about $250,000 deeper than we have ever experienced. If historical patterns continue, then it could reach a total of around $850,000 by November 1, 2005. If that happens, we will probably have exhausted our reserves, and draconian measures will have to be taken for the remainder of the year. Furthermore, even with generous December giving, it is hard to imagine us overcoming a deficit that deep.
    So let me make the following appeal. 1. Please join the officers in praying that the Lord would once again provide, through his people, the support necessary to fund fully the ministry budget of the church. 2. Indeed, let’s pray that we will be able to once again to surpass the church budget again this year in our giving—knowing that that will require an extraordinary outpouring of gifts by the congregation to the church budget. 3. Despite the hurricane recovery, the world disasters (like in Pakistan, India and Sumatra), the economy and markets, and the many other hands held out to you, let us all determine to give sacrificially and even over and above previous commitments to the church in order to insure the full support of the church’s work and witness this year. 4. If you are behind in you giving to the general budget or Faith Promise, let me appeal to you to catch up now. 5. If you are a member but not giving to the support of the church’s ministry budget, begin giving now. Don’t think that your ten dollar gift, or fifty dollar gift, or hundred dollar gift doesn’t matter. Our budget is largely underwritten by smaller, faithful giving. 6. If you are already faithfully giving to FPC, please consider giving more. Exceed your pledge. Give over and above and ahead. 7. For those in our congregation with substantial financial resources at your disposal, now would be a good time to devote some of those resources, over and above your regular giving, to the church.
    If we could go into the year 2006 with positive cash flow in our ministry budget, it would be a huge encouragement to the whole congregation. But it is going to take very generous, and even sacrificial giving to accomplish this in the final two and half months of the year.
But as I said, I am actually excited about this challenge. I think it is so good for our congregation. To hear why, you’ll have to be here on Sunday morning and I’ll tell you!
 

October 7, 2005

On this past Sunday evening, I had the privilege of participating in the ordination and installation service of Guy Richard, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Guy is now the duly installed minister of the First Presbyterian Church, Gulfport, but the service was held in the First Presbyterian Church of Biloxi’s church building because the destruction wrought upon the Gulfport congregation’s church facility by Hurricane Katrina. The Rev. Mr. Richard is a former member and intern here at First Presbyterian Church and a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary. After serving in the areas of Singles and Discipleship at First Pres, he and his wife Jennifer took their family to Edinburgh, Scotland, where Guy pursued doctoral studies at New College, University of Edinburgh, and where he also served as a PCA MTW missionary, assisting in the work of the church. He was called by First Pres., Gulfport, this summer, and October 2 was chosen for the date of his ordination/installation long before Katrina ever formed. Who could have imagined the havoc that storm would wreak upon the coast and our PCA congregations there, or that the ordination service would move ahead anyway?
    Anne and I picked up Ruling Elder Bebo Elkin (who had been asked by Grace Presbytery to give the pastoral charge—an exhortation to faithfulness in the Gospel ministry—to Guy in the service) and Dan Chase (RUF intern at Belhaven) and we headed to the coast. The further we went down Highway 49, the more damage we saw (but we were amazed that the progress clean-up crews have made in just a month).
    We arrived around 4:15 p.m. at the home of Ruling Elder Tim Murr, where Guy is currently living (Jennifer and the children have been living in Atlanta, and will soon join Guy in a small rental home in Gulfport they’ve just secured), and where the “church office” of First Gulfport, such as it is, is now located. We loaded up four cars full of family, members, and friends and headed to the Gulfport church building— to view firsthand the damage of the storm.
It was disheartening to see in person the harm done to the First Presbyterian, Gulfport buildings. The pews are gone—ripped from the floor bolts and swept away. The beautiful pulpit has perished too—the scraps of it remains scattered along what once was the chancel wall. The church fellowship hall was wave-washed all the way to the ceiling— removing the letters from the suspended banners. First, Gulfport, and First, Biloxi are two of the handsomest presbyterian houses of worship in the state, and to behold them in their distress was troubling. But the buildings of First, Biloxi have weathered the storm in much better shape than Gulfport’s. First, Gulfport’s elders and congregation will have some hard decisions to make about what to do. Pray for wisdom and resources.
The long, slow drive down the coast to Biloxi, dodging sinkholes and obstacles, revealed the widespread impact of Katrina. But no scene of desolation could dampen the joy given us by the Lord in the gathering and worship that night.
    We arrived at First, Biloxi around 5:30, and Bebo and I met with the Grace Presbyterian Commission, in Pastor David Skinner’s office, for preparation and prayer. By this time, several encouragements has already come our way. (1) We’d heard of the crowd at First, Gulfport’s morning service—so many were present that they ran out of their meager supply of elements for communion. (2) We’d heard of the presence of Pastor Rick Phillips of the First Presbyterian Church of Coral Springs in Margate, Florida. He’d preached in the morning in Florida and then flown to Gulfport for the evening service! His congregation has heaped financial support, material supplies, and tangible aid on the beleaguered folks at First, Gulfport from the very first days of the crisis. (3) We heard of the presence of several relief crews from PCA churches from Delaware (including folks from Jay Harvey’s church—Evangelical Pres in Newark), North Carolina, South Carolina (including members of Carl Robbins’ congregation), Woodruff Road PCA in Simpsonville, SC, and Mount Calvary in Spartanburg County, where Richard Thomas serves), Florida, and points beyond—aiding the PCA churches and congregants from Moss Point to Biloxi to Gulfport and more. (4) We’d encountered a good contingent of folks from First, Jackson who’d made the journey down (thank you, dear friends!).
    The service began a little after six. Ruling Elder Tim Murr announcements and introductions, and expressed thanks to those present who had provided help and support to the Gulfport congregation. Pastor David Skinner of Biloxi (a graduate of RTS Jackson) led the service and set a worshipful tone of solemn joy, enthusiasm and energy.
    We had lights, fans, an organ (with a very capable organist) a sound system and a packed house in the stately sanctuary of First, Biloxi, but no air-conditioning—so we sweated profusely in the late afternoon coastal heat. But our delight in and gratitude to God was undiminished. A local network camera crew was there, and afterwards the ladies of First Presbyterian, Hattiesburg provided a delicious reception outdoors on the front lawn.
    Several things struck me. First, here was a glorious demonstration that the church is not a building but a people. Or to put it even more biblically—the Lord’s people is His building. The congregation in Gulfport does not have a habitable building, and had to see their new minister ordained in another’s congregation’s meeting house; but they are themselves the Lord’s building. The bricks of First, Gulfport are wave-battered and strewn, but God is still building His Church living stone by living stone.
    Second, Guy could have pulled out from his commitment and walked away to a more comfortable place of service, but didn’t. He had many opportunities to serve elsewhere. He had made a commitment to come to a church and then that church had been scattered by a great storm. He arrived to find a third of his congregation without homes and jobs, many of the people were scattered afar, he no longer had usable church buildings, no assurance of a salary, no place for his family, no place to live, no certainty that the congregation would survive the ordeal—he could have just said “Well, I’m sorry it didn’t work out, I’ll find some other place to serve,” but didn’t. He went toward the uncertainty and disruption and loss of the situation, and ministered to God’s wounded people. Guy, and the other PCA ministers on the coast, bone-tired, with no end in sight to the recovery, have soldiered on in the face of the devastation. Who knows what Gospel fruit this will bear?
    Third, and following on that, it struck me that Katrina may turn out, unexpectedly, to be God’s strategic design to bring about everlasting spiritual good to those who have suffered so much temporally and physically from her battering waves. Will Christian love shine brighter in the wake of Katrina? Will hearts be open to the Gospel that were not so before? Will God use Gospel love to all in need, in the midst of this widespread human misery, through local Bible-believing, Christ-exalting, Gospel-preaching and -living churches, to bring spiritual renewal to the coast? Let’s pray so

August 10, 2005
For the last two weeks, we have been looking at the Bible’s teaching on predestination. We said that predestination means God’s eternal and sovereign plan or purpose of salvation. We also said that the Greek word that we render in English as “predestine” or “predestinate” is found several times in the New Testament (for instance, Acts 2:23; Acts 4:28; Romans 8:29-30; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 1:5, 11).

We argued and demonstrated that the Bible unambiguously teaches predestination. But then we also asked, isn’t predestination just a Presbyterian thing? Isn’t it just a Presbyterian interpretation of Scripture that nobody else agrees with? We answered with an emphatic no! And we showed how, for instance, that Baptists used to believe exactly as do Presbyterians on this subject (and many still do).

What about the Episcopal or Anglican Church? What have they traditionally believed regarding predestination? Well, here is a taste from the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England, still the most notable doctrinal statement of the whole Anglican communion worldwide. It says:

XVII. Of Predestination and Election.
Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God’s purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God’s mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.

As the godly consideration of Predestination, and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in them- selves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God: So, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God’s Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the Devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into wretchedness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation.

Furthermore, we must receive God’s promises in such wise, as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture: and, in our doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the Word of God.

So there is another example of a non-Presbyterian church tradition that affirms the biblical teaching on predestination. But that still leaves us with some questions. Does predestination make us puppets? How is it different from determinism? What about free will? Is this fair? What about evil, did God ordain that too? If so, how could he?

But that’s for next week!
******************************************

August 3, 2005
Last week, we began a brief consideration of the Bible’s teaching on predestination. We said that predestination means God’s eternal and sovereign plan or purpose of salvation. We also said that the Greek word that we render in English as “predestine” or “predestinate” is found several times in the New Testament (for instance, Acts 2:23, Acts 4:28, Romans 8:29-30, 1Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:5, 11) .
    We looked briefly at each of these passages and observed how they emphatically affirm the doctrine of predestination. Acts 2:22-24 clearly teaches that God’s predetermined plan was for Jesus to be betrayed by wicked men. In Acts 4:27-28 the early Christians openly acknowledged in prayer that God predestined/predetermined/preplanned for Jesus’ enemies to oppose Him. Romans 8:29-30 declares that God predestined everything in life (even trials) to work for our sanctification. 1 Corinthians 2:1-10 asserts that God predetermined to reveal His wisdom to believers in Christ, but not to the worldly wise. Ephesians 1:5, 11 joyfully acknowledges and praises God that He has predestined us, not simply to salvation, but also to adoption as sons and inheritance in Christ.
    But isn’t predestination just a Presbyterian thing? Isn’t it just a Presbyterian interpretation of Scripture that nobody else agrees with? No. In fact, there was a time when almost all Protestants heartily embraced the Bible’s clear teaching on predestination. Baptist, Congregationalist, Independent, Episcopal, as well as Reformed and Presbyterian churches all used to have predestination as a part of their corporate statements of faith.

    Don’t believe me? Well, check this out, from the Second London Baptist Confession
Chapter 3: Of God’s Decree
1. God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree. (Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 6:17; Romans 9:15, 18; James 1:13; 1 John 1:5; Acts 4:27, 28; John 19:11; Numbers 23:19; Ephesians 1:3-5)
2. Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything, because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions. (Acts 15:18; Romans 9:11, 13, 16, 18)
3. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace; others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of his glorious justice. (1 Timothy 5:21; Matthew 25:34; Ephesians 1:5, 6; Romans 9:22, 23; Jude 4)
4. These angels and men thus predestinated and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished. (2 Timothy 2:19; John 13:18)
5. Those of mankind that are predestinated to life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will, hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of his mere free grace and love, without any other thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving him thereunto. (Ephesians 1:4, 9, 11; Romans 8:30; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Romans 9:13, 16; Ephesians 2:5, 12)
6. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so he hath, by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto; wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ, by his Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by his power through faith unto salvation; neither are any other redeemed by Christ, or effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only. (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:9, 10; Romans 8:30; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:5; John 10:26; John 17:9; John 6:64)
7. The doctrine of the high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, that men attending the will of God revealed in his Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election; so shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God, and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel. (1 Thessalonians 1:4, 5; 2 Peter 1:10; Ephesians 1:6; Romans 11:33; Romans 11:5, 6, 20; Luke 10:20)

    How about that? That is what the Baptist ministers who founded the Southern Baptist Convention believed! And it’s the same thing our good friend Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, believes today. And we agree with them every step of the way. Because they are just affirming what the Bible teaches.

    Next week, we take a look at the what the Episcopal Church has historically believed regarding predestination.
Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England
XVII. Of Predestination and Election.
Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God’s purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God’s mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.
    As the godly consideration of Predestination, and our Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God: So, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God’s Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the Devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation.
    Furthermore, we must receive God’s promises in such wise, as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture: and, in our doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared unto us in the Word of God.
******************************************************************

July28, 2005
The past few Sundays we have had the opportunity to ponder, albeit briefly, the glorious truth of God’s electing and predestining love. Very often predestination is a matter of debate rather than a matter of praise, so this week and next (and longer if we need to) in this column, I’d like to offer to very basic explanation in relation to this oft-disputed, but truly comforting biblical truth.
    By predestination, we mean, in general, God’s eternal and sovereign plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word that we render in English as “predestine” or “predestinate” is found in several times in the New Testament (for instance, Acts 2:23, Acts 4:28, Romans 8:29-30, 1Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:5, 11) and in all of them it has the same meaning. Each of these passages teach that God’s eternal, sovereign, unchangeable, unconditional decree, or His predetermined purpose, governs all events.
    The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way—”God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.” Naturally, this raises all sorts of questions in people’s minds. Does this make us puppets? How is this different from determinism? What about free will? Is this fair? What about evil, did God ordain that too? If so, how could He? But before we go down that track, let’s just go to the Bible, and agree that we will believe whatever it teaches, whether it is hard to understand or not.
    * First, notice how Acts 2:22-24 clearly teaches that God’s predetermined plan was for Jesus to be betrayed by wicked men.
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know– 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
    * Second, just a couple of chapters later, we find in Acts 4:27-28 the early Christians openly acknowledging in prayer that God predestined/predetermined/preplanned for Jesus’ enemies to oppose him.  27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
    *Third, Paul reminds us in Romans 8:29-30 that God predestined everything in life (even trials) to work for our sanctification.  28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."
    *Fourth, in 1 Corinthians 2:1-10 Paul again tells us that God predetermined to reveal his wisdom to believers in Christ, but not to the worldly wise.
"1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” 10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God."
    *Fifth, as we are currently noting in our study of Ephesians, Paul’s great prayer in Ephesians 1:3-14 (see especially Ephesians 1:5, 11) joyfully acknowledges and praises God that he has predestined us, not simply to salvation, but also to adoption as sons and inheritance in Christ. "3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory."
    It is clear enough from these passages that predestination is an indisputably biblical teaching. But even if the very thought of the subject stretches and boggles your mind, it is important to recognize the practicality and comfort of this glorious truth. Charles Hodge, the great Princeton theologian (who taught the first pastor of this church theology over 170 years ago) has truly said that: “rightly understood, this doctrine (1) exalts the majesty and absolute sovereignty of God, while it illustrates the riches of His free grace and His just displeasure with sin. (2) It enforces upon us the essential truth that salvation is entirely of grace. That no one can either complain if passed over, or boast himself if saved. (3) It brings the inquirer to absolute self-despair and the cordial embrace of the free offer of Christ. (4) In the case of the believer who has the witness in himself, this doctrine at once deepens his humility and elevates his confidence to the full assurance of hope.”

July21, 2005
This evening’s service is to be the last we will enjoy together in this sanctuary in its present form, and the last that we will enjoy in this part of our precincts for about two years. That thought has me looking back, looking forward, and looking up. Let me explain.
    First, the thought of the imminent transformation of this beautiful place filled with so many memories of the Lord’s visitation, has me looking back. I look back and praise God for His faithfulness to us and for the manifold blessings He has heaped on us over the years we have gathered in this venerable old Presbyterian meeting house. Think of it—almost 54 years of preaching, Sunday morning and evening worship services, Wednesday night prayer meetings, hundreds of weddings, funerals, baptisms, Lord’s Suppers, Missions Conferences, Day School graduations, RTS graduations, Men’s Rallies, important congregational meetings, and even a PCA General Assembly were hosted here.
    From this pulpit have sounded the voices of some of the great evangelical preachers, theologians and leaders of our time: J.I. Packer, F.F. Bruce, Harold John Ockenga, John Gerstner, Sinclair Ferguson, R.C. Sproul, Ravi Zacharias, Al Mohler, and a host of others.
    Think of the funerals here that were moving testimonies to the community: like the very first one held in this place, Dr. Marvin Brister Ware’s (our own dear Brister’s father), like Dave Cannada’s, and Michael Slater’s— covenant children of this congregation whose lives were short and sweet witnesses to their Savior.
Think of how many came to know God here—the conversions, the Christian growth, the encouragements, and the challenges. And, thank God. Gathered here tonight are many who were here the first morning we worshiped here 53 years and ten months ago. Robert Mims, Betty Edwards, Harry Fulcher, Orrin Swayze, Bob Cannada, and a host of others. How many are here tonight who were here that first Sunday back in September of 1951? God has been faithful to preserve His people. God has met with us here, and dealt with us here, and given a witness to Himself here.
    Second, the thought of our last service in this place, as it now exists, has me looking forward in two ways. It has me thinking of the future, both (1) the future of our next two years together in temporary quarters, and (2) our future together when this renovated and expanded meeting house is reoccupied in all its architecturally repristinated glory.
    As to the next two years, even as we enjoyed the communion of the saints in the Lord’s Supper this morning—let us practically and tangibly and deliberately recommit ourselves to it. These two coming years are going to present many challenges to our convenience and patience, but they will also afford opportunities for us to love one another selflessly. Be doubly thoughtful, patient, and helpful to one another as we begin the renovation/expansion project. Determine right now that this time away from our beloved old sanctuary is going to be a time for growth in grace, congregational harmony, self-denial for the sake of our fellow members, and extra effort to come to the aid of our visitors.
    As to the future, when we reoccupy this rejuvenated and expanded meeting house, let us even now begin to pray that God would do a work in our midst, as He has in days of yore. “Our God, our help in ages past” be “our hope for years to come”—should be our plea.
    Third, the thought of our last service in this place as it now exists, has me looking up. So many have already entered the blessed rest. So many who were once with us have been gathered to their fathers, and now they rejoice with us, but upon another shore, and in a greater light, with a multitude no man can number, because their hope was in the Word made flesh. Does this not move you to look up, too, and to remember the hope set before you? Does this not move you to pray and sing and believe with the old hymn-writer “A few more years shall roll, A few more seasons come, And we shall be with those that rest Asleep within the tomb; Then, O my Lord, prepare My soul for that great day. // A few more Sabbaths here Shall cheer us on our way, And we shall reach the endless rest, Th’ eternal Sabbath day; Then, O my Lord, prepare My soul for that sweet day. O wash me in Thy precious blood, And take my sins away.”
    Dear friends, beloved brothers and sisters, let us work for the night is coming, when no man can work. (John 9:4)

June 9, 2005
The cover of this week’s First Epistle tells you a little about Derek’s new summer Sunday evening sermon series, and that reminds us that our special summer schedule is almost upon us at First Pres. While many other churches “gear down” during the summer months because so many members are away on vacation, the staff here at First likes to “gear up” for ministry. We see the summer as a unique opportunity to reach out to our congregation and to our community. Consequently, you’ll want to know about some of the special things planned for this summer. A brochure will be coming out soon, But let me go ahead and give you a sneak preview.
    First, as we’ve already mentioned, there’s Derek’s series on “A Pilgrim’s Progress.” You’ll want to invite friends along to these great messages. See the cover for more information. But on Sunday nights in the summer we’ll also have a new feature called “Understanding the Times” in which we’ll have the opportunity to think critically and Christianly about important cultural and practical issues for today’s Christian. Stay tuned for more information on this. Sunday evenings are going to be “can’t miss.”
    Second, as soon as our Sunday morning series on 2 Timothy comes to a close in June, we will begin a Sunday morning study in Ephesians! It will be called God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians. Ephesians is a book in which God explains how His sovereign love has been set on His people from before the foundation of the world. It tells about how we’ve been saved by grace and to good works. It shows us how in the mystery of God’s will He is creating a new family for Himself. It contains practical instruction about how to live the Christian life, how to be good husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and employees. It is filled with prayers: reports of prayers, prayer requests, teaching on prayer and examples of prayer.
    Did you know that Ephesians was Calvin’s favorite New Testament letter? He preached 48 sermons on the book (totaling about 705 pages of text in the modern English edition)! And no wonder – Ephesians is a letter that has so much to teach us about the church. John Stott has rightly said: “One of our chief evangelical blind spots has been to overlook the central importance of the church. We tend to proclaim individual salvation without moving on to the saved community. We emphasize that Christ died for us ‘to redeem us from all iniquity’ rather than ‘to purify for Himself a people of His own.’” Ephesians is a book perfectly designed to redress this imbalance. It clearly sets forth God’s eternal purpose to create a new society, a new community, a new family, a new household.
    Then, on Wednesday nights, our Senior Highs will enjoy another stimulating series of coffee houses with Joe Holland and his new team. Our midweek meetings will be in the friendly and inviting setting of Lowe Hall, as we tackle “The Practice of Holiness.” This series will take us through the brutally practical, specific and relevant guide to godly living set forth in the holiness code in Leviticus. From sexual ethics, to showing true Christian love towards neighbors and enemies, to capital punishment, to blasphemy – you name it, Leviticus 18-27 covers it. Our summer Wednesday evening meetings will also feature a series of practical vignettes on marriage, family, parenting and crucial contemporary issues for Christians living and serving here in Jackson, Mississippi. Don’t miss summer at First Pres!
By the way, remember that this Sunday is the commissioning service for the Twin Lakes summer staff (at the 11 o’clock morning service) and for the summer missions teams (at the 6 o’clock evening service).

June 2, 2005
The cover of this week’s First Epistle tells you a little about Derek’s new summer Sunday evening sermon series, and that reminds us that our special summer schedule is almost upon us at First Pres. While many other churches “gear down” during the summer months because so many members are away on vacation, the staff here at First likes to “gear up” for ministry. We see the summer as a unique opportunity to reach out to our congregation and to our community. Consequently, you’ll want to know about some of the special things planned for this summer. A brochure will be coming out soon, But let me go ahead and give you a sneak preview.
    First, as we’ve already mentioned, there’s Derek’s series on “A Pilgrim’s Progress.” You’ll want to invite friends along to these great messages. See the cover for more information. But on Sunday nights in the summer we’ll also have a new feature called “Understanding the Times” in which we’ll have the opportunity to think critically and Christianly about important cultural and practical issues for today’s Christian. Stay tuned for more information on this. Sunday evenings are going to be “can’t miss.”
    Second, as soon as our Sunday morning series on 2 Timothy comes to a close in June, we will begin a Sunday morning study in Ephesians! It will be called God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians. Ephesians is a book in which God explains how His sovereign love has been set on His people from before the foundation of the world. It tells about how we’ve been saved by grace and to good works. It shows us how in the mystery of God’s will He is creating a new family for Himself. It contains practical instruction about how to live the Christian life, how to be good husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and employees. It is filled with prayers: reports of prayers, prayer requests, teaching on prayer and examples of prayer.
Did you know that Ephesians was Calvin’s favorite New Testament letter? He preached 48 sermons on the book (totaling about 705 pages of text in the modern English edition)! And no wonder – Ephesians is a letter that has so much to teach us about the church. John Stott has rightly said: “One of our chief evangelical blind spots has been to overlook the central importance of the church. We tend to proclaim individual salvation without moving on to the saved community. We emphasize that Christ died for us ‘to redeem us from all iniquity’ rather than ‘to purify for Himself a people of His own.’” Ephesians is a book perfectly designed to redress this imbalance. It clearly sets forth God’s eternal purpose to create a new society, a new community, a new family, a new household.
Then, on Wednesday nights, our Senior Highs will enjoy another stimulating series of coffee houses with Joe Holland and his new team. Our midweek meetings will be in the friendly and inviting setting of Lowe Hall, as we tackle “The Practice of Holiness.” This series will take us through the brutally practical, specific and relevant guide to godly living set forth in the holiness code in Leviticus. From sexual ethics, to showing true Christian love towards neighbors and enemies, to capital punishment, to blasphemy – you name it, Leviticus 18-27 covers it. Our summer Wednesday evening meetings will also feature a series of practical vignettes on marriage, family, parenting and crucial contemporary issues for Christians living and serving here in Jackson, Mississippi. Don’t miss summer at First Pres!
By the way, remember that this Sunday is the commissioning service for the Twin Lakes summer staff (at the 11 o’clock morning service) and for the summer missions teams (at the 6 o’clock evening service). image and was owed by all those involved the basic means necessary for the preservation and sustaining of her life—specifically, the provision of food and water.

April 7, 2005
This is a very important month in the life of First Presbyterian Church. All month long we will be receiving the congregation’s pledges of financial support for the Sanctuary Expansion and Building Renovation and Enhancement Capital Campaign. The Session is asking us to hand in our commitments this month. You can put them in the offering plate on the Lord’s Day or mail them into the church’s business office.
    We all received a great encouragement when Jim Moore told us on Easter Sunday morning that our officers and a few other members have already committed over $4,000,000. That’s just over a hundred people or so making tremendous, sacrificial pledges. What an example they’ve set for us! As far as I know, we’ve never had that much money committed ahead of time towards any building project in this church’s history. To have over 35% of the amount pledged before we even start our April campaign is surely a boost to all our spirits. But our goal, our desire, is to see the whole $11,000,000 committed. Wouldn’t that be a joy?
However, do not underestimate the size of this challenge. Assuming that around 500 families make commitments to this project, given that there are 100+ pledges already, that would mean that the remaining families would have to commit almost $7,000,000. No small order. Since this is clearly both a matter of the heart and God’s provision, let’s all commit ourselves to prayer.
    Do carefully read the information about the project and campaign that has and will be sent to you. Beginning this Sunday, there will be information (including an inspiring DVD) about the sanctuary project shared in a number of Sunday School classes.
    Let me reiterate that we want you to make your pledges during the month of April, so that we have all your commitments toward the Sanctuary Capital Campaign in by the first Sunday in May—that’s May 1, 2005. We are looking at that Sunday as more of a “completion of the campaign Sunday” rather than as the commitment Sunday for the campaign. The reason is that the Session has to make a lot of decisions very quickly in order for us to meet our July deadline for commencing the work on the sanctuary proper. For instance, we’ll have to start renovating and transforming the gymnasium immediately in May to have it ready in time for the use of the congregation while we are out of the sanctuary. Hence, by May 1, the Session really needs to know what the congregation’s financial commitment is. We can’t afford to have commitments trickling in several weeks and months later (as they often do for the regular ministry budget and Faith Promise).
    Changing the subject completely— don’t forget that this Sunday we have the privilege of coming to the Lord’s table. Derek will be preaching and administering the sacraments. Also, the Session will be meeting to receive a large group of new members and communicants. Pray. Prepare. Come expectantly.

March 30, 2005
Our Easter Services were a personal blessing, and I trust a blessing to you all. Billy Joseph’s prayers were especially fruitful. The music was beautiful. And Paul gave us another great text on the resurrection from 2 Timothy. I must admit, secretly, I’d wondered what sort of attendance we would have on an Easter Sunday at the end of a spring break week, but we were packed as usual. Jim Moore’s pre-service announcement was a huge encouragement to us all, regarding the Sanctuary Expansion and Building Renovation and Enhancement Capital Campaign. To think that we haven’t even kicked off our April commitment campaign, and almost $4,000,000 has already been pledged!
    Speaking of which, I want to reiterate that we are hoping to have all your commitments toward the Sanctuary Capital Campaign in by the first Sunday in May – that’s May 1, 2005. We are looking at that Sunday as more of a “completion of the campaign Sunday” rather than as the commitment Sunday for the campaign. The reason is that the Session has to make a lot of decisions very quickly in order for us to meet our July deadline for commencing the work on the sanctuary proper. For instance, we’ll have to start renovating and transforming the gymnasium immediately in May to have it ready in time for the use of the congregation while we are out of the sanctuary. Hence, by May 1, the Session really needs to know what the congregation’s financial commitment is. We can’t afford to have commitments trickling in several weeks and months later (as they often do for the regular ministry budget and Faith Promise).
    So, be ready for a lot of information in the month of April. An inspiring DVD about the sanctuary project will be shown in a number of venues and Sunday School classes. There will be a number of informational mailouts. And we hope that you will submit your pledges for the sanctuary project in April. It is our prayer that the congregation will pledge the whole amount. We are over 35 % of the way there.
    This coming Lord’s Day, April 3, I’ll be away preaching at the Church of the Redeemer in Mesa, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix). My message is the final address of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology (PCRT) at the Phoenix location. The PCRT was started by James Montgomery Boice over thirty years ago, and is the longest running national reformed Bible conference aimed at the laity in the U.S. The PCRT is held at three different locations each year. This year it is meeting in Phoenix, Indianapolis and, naturally, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Next year it will be held at four venues, including one right here in Jackson, Mississippi! This year’s theme is One Way: The Exclusive Claims of Christianity – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6. The plenary addresses at this year’s PCRT will present the essential claims that Christianity makes to our pluralistic and relativistic world: One God, One Savior, One Truth, and One People. The conference concludes with my Sunday morning message, which applies the exclusive claims of Christianity to the believer’s personal walk with God. Be in prayer for this conference – that it would be a blessing to all those who attend.
Derek will also be away this Lord’s Day too – preaching the Connecticut Valley Conference on Reformed Theology. The director for this conference is PCA Pastor Brad Evans (who is our own Rob and Megan Hill’s father-in-law and father, respectively). Derek and I are rarely away on the same Sunday, by design, but this opens the door for a special treat for you. A favorite son of this church, Dr. Ric Cannada, Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary will be preaching our morning services. What a blessing it will be to have Ric back in our pulpit

March 24, 2005
It’s Spring Break week at First Presbyterian, and so many of us are scattered to the four winds. Nevertheless, there is much going on at the church.
This coming Lord’s Day will feature some of our very favorite hymns of the Christian church – there are almost too many good resurrection hymns for us to sing! This day may also afford you a special opportunity to invite friends to attend church, who do not attend regularly or at all.
    Remember, too, the importance of Jesus’ resurrection to the Christian faith. J.I. Packer says:

“Christianity rests on the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection as a space-time occurrence in history. All four Gospels highlight it, focusing on the empty tomb and resurrection appearances, and Acts insists on it (Acts 1:3; 2:24-35; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30-32; 13:33-37). Paul regarded the Resurrection as indisputable proof that the message about Jesus as Judge and Savior is true (Acts 17:31; 1 Cor. 15:1-11,20). Jesus’ resurrection demonstrated his victory over death (Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:54-57), vindicated Him as righteous (John 16:10), and indicated His divine identity (Rom. 1:4). It led on to His ascension and enthronement (Acts 1:9-11; 2:34; Phil. 2:9-11; cf. Isa. 53:10-12) and His present heavenly reign. It guarantees the believer’s present forgiveness and justification (Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15: 17) and is the basis of resurrection life in Christ for the believer here and now (John 11:25-26; Rom. 6; Eph. 1:18-2:10; Col. 2:9-15; 3:1-4).”

You may want to study these passages during the week as you prepare for worship this coming Lord’s Day.
    Last week, many of you enjoyed David Wright’s lectures on early Christian history, specifically, on “Roman North Africa: The Cradle of Western Christianity.” If you missed those talks and would like to listen, contact RTS for information about tapes. It was good to have David among us – thanks to those of you who showed him hospitality.
    Thanks to all of you who have said such nice things about the “Duncan Family Singers” after our little presentation at PROS. I didn’t have much of a voice, and so just croaked as best as I could, but Jennings and Sarah Kennedy did splendidly. Anne was the mastermind behind the whole act, and we really enjoyed singing for you.
    I recently picked up a copy of Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood (Crossway Books), by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre. It may prove a stimulating book for mothers and daughters looking to read something together to jump-start some good conversation about the things that really matter. One appendix in particular deals with modesty. I thought Carolyn’s questions for a “heart check” were right on: “What statement do my clothes make about my heart? In choosing what clothes to wear today, whose attention do I desire, and whose approval do I crave? Am I seeking to please God or impress others? Is what I wear consistent with the biblical values of modesty, self-control, and respectable apparel, or does my dress reveal an inordinate identification and fascination with sinful cultural values? Who am I trying to identify with through my dress? Is the Word of God my standard or is the latest fashion? Have I asked other godly individuals to evaluate my wardrobe? Does my clothing reveal my allegiance to the gospel, or is there any contradiction between my profession of faith and my practice of godliness?”

 March 8, 2005
I’m writing this edition of the Pastor’s Perspective from afar, in South Carolina. I’ve just finished a weekend Bible Conference (on the subject of prayer) at Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville, SC. The people have been very kind, but I’ve missed you! Already, good reports have come to me of Derek’s faithful and powerful ministry to you on Sunday morning and evening. What a blessing it is to enjoy the sheer delight and privilege of his preaching of the word.
    Speaking of Derek, he has a busy week this week. So, as you read this, be sure to pray for his strength and stamina. He’ll be teaching a doctoral course for RTS in Brazil, Monday to Thursday, then flying back to Orlando to join me at R.C. Sproul’s Ligonier National Conference on Friday. Derek will fill in for Joni Eareckson Tada, who was scheduled to share her testimony and speak to the assembly about suffering. Unfortunately, Joni has taken ill and will be unable to attend. Derek has graciously agreed to come and preach a message on Jesus’ suffering as a model for the believer. Then he’ll return to Jackson, assist me during the morning services and preach the evening service on Sunday.
    We are very encouraged by your response to the Faith Promise challenge. So far 432 cards and $808,486 have been committed to the work of the Great Commission. If you have not yet committed to give, do so now! Let us shatter our goal of giving $1,000,000 through Faith Promise this year.
Some of you may be interested to know that David F. Wright, a premier Patristic (which is just a word that stands for shorthand for “the study of the history and theology of the Early Christian Church”) and Reformation scholar, will be in Jackson the week of March 14-18 (that’s this coming week!) to present a series of lectures on Roman North Africa: The Cradle of Western Christianity. David was my PhD supervisor at the University of Edinburgh (and was Derek Thomas’s external examiner on his PhD—ask Derek about that sometime!), and is a leading British evangelical figure.
    David is revered by his students and respected by his peers. Around New College, Edinburgh, where he taught for forty years, we often said of him “David has read everything, . . . twice!” This is a tribute to his encyclopedic knowledge. I owe a great personal debt to David, and I’m delighted that many will have a chance to hear him lecture. I had the privilege of sitting in on his famous two-semester seminar course “The Origins of North African Christianity from the beginnings to Augustine,” from which these lessons will be drawn. It was scintillating. Don’t miss this chance to learn about the history of the early Christians at the feet of a master historian.
    The lectures will be held morning and evening at Grace Chapel, RTS on Monday, and Wednesday-Thursday. An informational brochure with exact times and topics is available. Call Missye Rhee Breazeale at 973-9104 or email her at MissyeRheeB@fpcjackson.org for more information.

March 2, 2005
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the expanded version of The First Epistle (referring to the printed version)! We hope to provide you with more content and better communicate the ministry program of the church with the additional space afforded to us by this new format.
    This has been a very special Missions Conference week at First Presbyterian. Our beloved Dr. Baird’s messages have been powerful and challenging. So many of you have already mentioned to me how much you appreciated his sermons (as I have). And Vic Blaylock stopped me Friday night after the missions dinner to say what a tremendous job Dr. Baird and “Miss Jane” had done with the children —holding them in rapt attention for an hour with Dr. Baird’s famous “chalk talks.” Throughout the week I perceived a unique and direct connection between preacher and congregation. I saw many of you well up with tears of remembrance when he pronounced his famous benediction. I saw his earnestness and emotion as he spoke to you. Dr. Baird started strong on Wednesday evening, and just got stronger as the conference continued. Thank you, Jim and Jane!
    The missionary reports we heard on Sunday morning and evening were informative and inspiring, too. Now, it is our time to respond! I trust that most of you who were here have already made a Faith Promise commitment to missions. Our financial goal is to give more than $1,000,000 to missions in 2005-2006 through the Faith Promise commitments. If you have not yet committed to give, do so now! And if you sense the Lord calling you to missionary service, but you feel the need for guidance—do call one of our ministers or elders. But I especially want to challenge many of you to prayer – prayer for missions. Who will become the great missionary prayer warriors of this generation? I’ll look for you at the prayer meeting on Wednesday nights!
    Now, while the Missions Conference was proceeding, Wednesday to Saturday, Donna Dobbs, Liz Griffin, and a number of our young women were away in Atlanta, Georgia, at the PCA Women in the Church (WIC) National Leadership Conference (around 250 women from around the country attended). Their partial absence from the missions conference doesn’t reflect a lack of interest in or commitment to missions, but rather their earnest desire to support our denominational efforts at biblical, effective women’s ministry, and their desire to minister to their sisters in Christ in this congregation. It was my privilege to speak to that Conference on Thursday and Friday, and I look forward to hearing a fuller report from Donna and our faithful women, who took four days out of their busy lives as wives and mothers (and a lot of other things, too!) in order to be equipped to serve.
    I will be away this coming Lord’s Day in South Carolina, preaching the annual Bible Conference at Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville, SC (a suburb of my hometown of Greenville). So, Derek Thomas (who was away last Sunday morning preaching the missions conference at the Woodlands PCA Church in Hattiesburg) will be preaching God’s word at First Church, Sunday morning and evening. Come expectantly!

February 23, 2005
The latest edition of the Belhaven Tartan (118.1, Winter 2005) is out and there are a number of things to which I’d like to draw your attention. First, this edition celebrates Belhaven going co-ed in 1954 and thus highlights a numbers of ministers, members, missionaries and friends of our congregation who were part of that grand change in 71 years of Belhaven’s history as a women’s college. Buck Mosal, Brister Ware, Bill Hughes and Palmer Robertson were all parts of the early days of co-educational experience at Belhaven. There are lots of good stories and pictures relating to those times in the magazine. I’d encourage you to make a contribution to Belhaven and sign up for the Tartan so that you can keep up with the encouraging developments at this historic institution with which we have long-standing ties.
    Second, this edition of the Tartan tells a little about Belhaven’s President, Dr. Roger Parrott’s leadership of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization, put together by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE). As many of you know, the LCWE is a ministry network to promote cooperation and collaboration in the task of missions. It was established with the leadership of Billy Graham and John Stott back in the early 1970s. What an honor for our own Belhaven President to take such a lead in this venerable and important organization.
    Third, there is a nice note in the Tartan about Guy Waters’ new book Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul. Guy and his wife Sarah are part of our church family, and Guy leads the presbytery’s credentials committee. His lectures on and written critiques of new theological trends that are undermining or attempting to modify our Confession’s exposition of the biblical teaching on justification by grace alone through faith alone are widely respected and are proving a great help to the whole PCA.
    This is Missions Conference week at First Presbyterian. By the time you read this, we will already have enjoyed Dr. Baird’s Wednesday evening message, as well as hearing those missionary reports. Perhaps you are glancing at your First Epistle as you head out the door on Friday night to the Missions dinner. But whatever the case, do come expectantly to our Sunday morning services on February 27, 2005, ready to make a Faith Promise commitment. Our financial goal is to give more than $1,000,000 to missions through the Faith Promise commitments. That is a great challenge, but it pales in comparison to the size of the challenge of the Great Commission. Let us commit ourselves in prayer to this mandate from the Lord Jesus. If you are not giving to missions through the Faith Promise budget here at First Presbyterian – I challenge you to begin this year. Fewer than forty percent of our families in the church make a Faith Promise commitment. By themselves they are giving almost a million dollars a year! Can you imagine what we could give to missions if everyone were giving through Faith Promise?!
Now, don’t forget that on Monday night, February 28, at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary and then in the gym, right after our Missions Conference is over, we’ll be hosting a concert by the Furman Singers. They’ll sing a concert of sacred choral music first, and then after an intermission will sing a lighter program of secular music in the gym. Plan to come, and bring friends.
 

February 16, 2005
The First Presbyterian Church Missions conference is almost here! Every family should have received your Missions Conference brochure, a letter with a listing of all our missionaries, and a copy of the Faith Promise commitment card in the mail by now. Do read over these things. Add the schedule of events into your family calendar, and pray for the visiting missionaries and for the impact of the conference itself. From February 20-27, this Sunday to next, our congregation will host a number of beloved missionaries whom we support from around the globe, as well as other guests and speakers. Our financial goal is to give more than $1,000,000 to missions through the Faith Promise commitments. That is a great challenge, but it pales in comparison to the size of the challenge of the Great Commission. Let us commit ourselves in prayer to this mandate from the Lord Jesus.
    Let me be even more direct. If you are not giving to missions through the Faith Promise budget here at First Presbyterian – I challenge you to begin this year. Fewer than forty percent of our families in the church make a Faith Promise commitment. By themselves they are giving almost a million dollars a year! Can you imagine what we could give to missions if every one were giving through Faith Promise?!
    On another subject, I want you to know that the new expanded format of The First Epistle was unanimously approved by the Session last Monday night, and you will begin receiving this attractive, enlarged, and improved version the first week of March. The congregational response to our experimental editions was overwhelmingly positive (except that you didn’t like the glossy white paper!). So, we will publish the new version of the First Epistle on a beautiful ivory paper very similar in color to our present First Epistle. The expanded version will allow us to include pictures, more news, and more articles. We hope it will help you be better informed about the life and ministry of First Presbyterian, and be more attractive to read.
    A number of you have asked me about this year’s Ligonier Ministries National Conference in Orlando, March 10-12 (Thursday to Saturday). By the way, Ligonier Ministries is the teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul. Well, in answer to your questions, yes, I am speaking this year, along with R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, and Joni Eareckson Tada. The theme is “Five Keys to Spiritual Growth.” This will be Ligonier Ministries’ 18th annual National Conference and its focus will be exploring five key disciplines that contribute to our spiritual growth. We will examine what the Bible says about growth, and we will look at the means God has given us to bring us to maturity in Christ. There are several folks from First Presbyterian coming to the conference (and airfares are cheap from Jackson to Orlando!); so if you are interested, visit the Ligonier Ministries website at www.ligonier.org or at www.fivekeys.info.
    I got a note this week that reminded me how helpful the resources are that you enable us to provide via the internet. This is a real email, with some of the information removed, to protect the confidentiality of the sender:
 

“My family and I live in ****, Kentucky. Unfortunately, there are NO PCA churches anywhere near here and we are not currently in a position to relocate, though we keep praying that God will direct us to that place in His time. We have tried attending other churches and have been amazed (in a very negative way) at the total lack of churches that simply accept the Word of God as inerrant. Specifically, we attended a **** Church for some time with a pretty conservative pastor. Of course, he eventually left and was replaced. The replacement . . . actually gave a sermon on how laughable the idea of inerrant scripture was and we have not returned. Because of this we have learned to rely on the internet services of First Presbyterian. My wife and I both lived in Jackson and always loved the sermons of Dr. Baird. Your sermons have spoken to us deeply and help us to remember who we are and how we are to engage the world in which we live. At any rate, thank you and thank the membership of First Presbyterian for positively sharing the truth of God’s Holy Word and inspired inerrant scripture.”

Consider yourselves thanked, on behalf of that dear family.

February 2, 2005
The year has started fast at First Presbyterian, and it is hard to believe that we are already well into February. Missions Conference is on the doorstep. Communicants Class is over. The Inquirer’s Class is in full swing. The Parent’s Wednesday night Coffee House series,“Take Issue” is now completed, but if you missed it, tapes and CDs are available through the Church Library. The series was videoed as well, so there should be DVDs available eventually.
Sinclair Ferguson’s visit to us was wonderful. We had the largest attendance I’ve seen in a decade at the Mid-South Men’s Rally. Men were everywhere. The sanctuary was packed, Hutton was packed, and there were even a good number of folk in Lowe. The signing in the sanctuary was superb, and Sinclair was as powerful as I’ve ever heard him. I’d encourage you to get the tapes/CDs from the Church Library (you too, ladies!).
    Speaking of the Church Library and Bookstore, I just received a note this week that reminded me again what a wonderful resource we have here at FPCJ. A member wrote to me and said: “We would like to let you know that our church library is like a treasure box to us. We enjoy it so much that we borrow books from there every week. Even our daughter’s outside reading books from school are borrowed from the library. We thank you for this ministry.” Don’t fail to take advantage of this excellent resource that is right under your nose.
    I mentioned to you last month that the Session has authorized the distribution of brochures relating to the new PCA denominational magazine byFaith. These brochures (which contain subscription information) are available in various tract racks around the church and at the entrances/exits of the sanctuary. The first issue is now in print (I received my copy this week). If you want to get a feel for what the content of the magazine will be like, visit www.byfaithonline.com – this, along with the brochure, will give you a sense of the layout and subject matter.
    Some of you will be interested to know that the Mississippi Valley Presbytery Report on the New Perspectives on Paul, the theology of N.T. Wright, the theology of Norman Shepherd, and the “Federal Vision”or “Auburn Avenue Theology”has now been adopted by presbytery. It is available on our website. The presbytery is concerned to uphold the PCA’s faithful proclamation of the biblical Gospel – and this report responds to various current aberrations that are making their rounds in our circles.
    You should have received your Missions Conference brochure in the mail by now. Do read over it, add its schedule of events into your family calendar, and begin to pray for the visiting missionaries and for the impact of the conference itself. From February 20-27, 2005, our congregation will host a number of beloved missionaries whom we support from around the globe, as well as other guests and speakers. It is during this time that our hearts and minds are purposefully turned toward the daunting task of reaching the ends of the earth with the gospel message. Our Missions Conference theme this year is “Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples” Psalm 96:2-3. Our goal is to give more than $1,000,000 to missions through the Faith Promise commitments. That is a great challenge, but it pales in comparison to the size of the challenge of the Great Commission. Let us commit ourselves in prayer to this mandate from the Lord Jesus.

January 19, 2005
By way of information, you should be aware that the Session has authorized the distribution of brochures relating to the new PCA denominational magazine byFaith. These brochures (which contain subscription information) are available in various tract racks around the church and at the entrances/exits of the sanctuary. The new magazine is due to publish its first issue this month (at the rate of six issues a year). If you want to get a feel for what the content of the magazine will be like, visit www.byfaithonline. com – this, along with the brochure, will give you a sense of the layout and subject matter.
    Wednesday night attendance is off to a torrid pace this January. Between the special Coffee House Series, the Midweek Bible Study and Prayer Meeting, and our regular Wednesday activities (like Adult Choir Rehearsal and Children’s Choirs) we have had capacity crowds in Miller Hall. This is, of course, very heartening to the church staff. We hope that these opportunities for growth and service will prove to be edifying and encouraging.
    It is Presidential Inauguration week in Washington, and a number of our folks will be there with the Mississippi delegation. This important national event should prompt us to thank God for His national mercies, not the least of which are our civil liberties, as well as to pray for all our public servants at the federal level (of whatever party affiliation). Many New Testament passages will provide you ideas for petitions on their behalf, as well as for God’s will to be cultivated in your own attitude towards government and public witness (e.g., Romans 13 and 1 Peter).
    This reminds me that we ought to be concerned to cultivate an effective public witness to Christ in the way we engage with the culture and talk about the “first things” with our contemporaries. David Brooks (an outstanding Jewish cultural commentator) recently described the tone (or “voice”) of the aged evangelical leader John Stott’s public witness to Christ in this way: “It is a voice that is friendly, courteous and natural. It is humble and self-critical, but also confident, joyful and optimistic.” He goes on to note that Stott believes in absolute truth “not because we are ultra-conservative, or obscurantist, or reactionary or the other horrid things which we are sometimes said to be. It is rather because we love Jesus Christ, and because we are determined, God helping us, to bear witness to His unique glory and absolute sufficiency. In Christ and in the biblical witness to Christ, God’s revelation is complete; to add any words of our own to His finished work is derogatory to Christ.” Brooks calls Stott “Mr. Rogers with a backbone of steel.” Quite a compliment from an astute observer of religion.
    Now, we may not be aiming to be Mr. Rogers in our public witness to the truth of Jesus Christ, but surely there is something to be said for the respectful tone and substantive content that has caught David Brooks’ attention in the message of John Stott. Since many voices that represent evangelicals in radio and television talk programing do not do so with the same courtesy and substance of John Stott and others (like our friends John MacArthur and Al Mohler), we will perhaps have to overcome some negative stereotyping when engaging with our neighbors. But speaking the truth in love will certainly help thaw some of the ice.
    Men, on Friday night, January 28, Sinclair Ferguson will be with us for the annual Mid-South Men’s Rally. You don’t want to miss it! Come join us for supper and then for a feast from God’s word. Some of you may be interested to know that Dr. Ferguson recently preached for the royal family at their estate of Balmoral, in Scotland.

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January 12, 2005
Last week, I shared with you the good news that the Lord had once again given us a strong year-end in financial support of the church’s ministry. Now that that picture is clearer, let me share a little more of the good news.
    The church’s giving surpassed expenditures by about a quarter of a million dollars. That is, income outpaced expenses by almost $250,000. We hit the budget almost right on the nose. The congregation gave more in December of 2004 than in December of 2003, and more in 2004 than in 2003. We are profoundly grateful to the Lord, and to you, for this provision. That having been said, we have a long way to go toward improvement and many reasons to continue in dependence on the Lord for the material support of ministry.
    For instance, our church’s ministry is basically supported by less than half the households in the congregation. In other words, less than half the membership financially provides for the ministry of the whole church. We pray that more members would become involved in giving, pledging, and making the tithe the base of their support for the church. Can you imagine the ministry impact if we all did? Furthermore, there are great tasks before us.
This year, we have $2,000,000 in debt in relation to the Twin Lakes Conference expansion to retire, we have our upcoming missions conference and giving to contemplate (and, personally, I’m praying that the congregation will give more than a million dollars to the cause of the Great Commission), and we are on the verge of an $11,000,000 Capital Campaign for Sanctuary Expansion and Building Renovation. Meanwhile, the Day School is paying for the expansion of our Youth House facilities. It’s a great time, but a challenging time.
    We need all of our members involved in giving to the church: (1) in support of the ministry budget; (2) in support of the missions budget; and soon (3) in support of the capital improvements and expansion. So, here at the beginning of the year, I’d ask all of you to be in a mode of financial commitment and even readiness to sacrifice (and to be thinking in terms of how you will support the church in these three areas over the next three years). I want you to know that I am not asking you to do what I am not doing myself. Anne and I will be asking ourselves how we can tighten the belt of family expenses in order to give more to the church in these three areas in this year, and three years to come.
    In connection with the sanctuary expansion, let me share that something happened last Lord’s Day morning that I’ve never seen in my almost nine years at First Presbyterian. We almost ran out of communion elements, especially at the 11 o’clock service. Orrin Swayze never remembers that happening before in his many years of organizing the elders for communion, and reckons that we had more than 200 more people than usual. This is a wonderful problem to have, but it makes apparent why we are going through the capital expansion process in the first place.
    There is more to say, but that’s a start. Now, men, don’t forget the Men’s Rally, Friday night, January 28. A spiritual feast awaits you. I can’t wait to hear Sinclair Ferguson’s message!
 

*****************************************************2005*********************************************

September 22, 2004
This coming Sunday evening, we will begin a new sermon series on the Book of Leviticus, called A Quest for Holiness.

Leviticus! What comes to mind when you hear the name of this Old Testament Bible book? Maybe you draw a blank. Maybe you think of priests. Maybe you think of the elaborate purity rituals. Or maybe you think of the service of the tabernacle. Well, this Autumn we’re going to fill in some of the blanks together on Sunday nights. Beginning this Sunday, September 26, we will work through Leviticus in the evening worship services. Leviticus is the third book of the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses that begin the Old Testament). The Latin Vulgate (the Latin translation of the Bible) gave this book that name (following the Greek Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Old Testament), because it deals with the levitical service (“levitical” meaning pertaining to the priests and the priestly service, because the priests are descended from Levi and hence called the sons of Levi sometimes). It is the third of the five books of Moses. Easton says: “No book contains more of the very words of God. He is almost throughout the whole of it the direct speaker. This book is a prophecy of things to come, a shadow whereof the substance is Christ and His kingdom. The principles on which it is to be interpreted are laid down in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It contains in its complicated ceremonial the gospel of the grace of God.” Here’s a little taste of what’s to come.

September14, 2004
This is the second of our experimental editions of The First Epistle and we still want your feedback. Please write, call or email the church office to let us hear what you think. Missye Rhee Breazeale is compiling the input for the Communications Committee.
    Our own Derek Thomas was a featured speaker at R.C. Sproul’s recent Ligonier Conference this past weekend in Seattle, WA. The conference theme was “The Invisible Hand” and the topic was the doctrine of God’s providence. Derek’s messages were well received. As you can imagine, I’m proud of him, and I know that you are, too.
    Our friend Al Mohler has an important review of Rhett Godfrey’s book The Teen Code posted on his daily weblog at albertmohler.com (his Crosswalk commentary for Tuesday, September 7, 2004). The book was written by a teenager (and his New York Times Booklist best-selling Mom). It gives a teen’s eye view of parenting teenagers. Some of it is insightful, some of it sad and some of it frightening. I’d suggest that parents of teenagers read Al’s review and also the book itself. One issue that will become obvious is the massive and all-too-common problem of American parents abdicating their parental authority and responsibility, and allowing teens to dictate the terms on which they will function in the family.
    On this past Sunday morning we tackled a glorious text in 1Timothy 4:10b “we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” One phrase that we didn’t have time to fully unpack and address is Paul’s suggestive assertion that the living God on whom our hope is fixed “is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”
    This verse has been disputed territory in theological discussion. Universalists (those who believe that all humankind will be saved) point to this as a proof-text for their view. See, they say, it says that God is “the Savior of all men” and that means that Paul is teaching that all are or will be saved. This interpretation, however, would not only put Paul in conflict with the teaching of the rest of Scripture which makes it amply clear that not all are or will be saved (think of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:41) but would also put Paul in contradiction with Paul! After all, he has just warned us of those who are led astray by demons and deceiving spirits (see 1 Timothy 4:1) No, clearly this is not the point Paul was trying to make when he said that God is “the Savior of all men.” Universalists “over-read” the text and fail to interpret Scripture according to Scripture. They also can’t do justice to the phrase “especially of believers” (however translated) – a phrase in which Paul clearly shows the necessity of faith in Christ for salvation.
    A second interpretation of these words is that of our Arminian friends (though they often don’t know who Arminius was or even that their view is called “Arminian”!). They claim that this verse means that God offers salvation to all humanity, and that Christ atoned for all humanity, but that only believers receive salvation and the benefits of Christ’s atonement, because of their faith. This however is to “under-read” the main assertion of the text (as well as to read other things into it that aren’t there). Paul doesn’t say that God is potentially the Savior of all men, or that he desires to be the Savior of all men, but that he “is the Savior of all men.” No, this interpretation just won’t do.
    There have been two ways that wise interpreters have tried to explain this text. Since they understand that not all men are saved, some interpreters will take the assertion here that “God is Savior of all” to mean that his providential care extends to all. That is, they take “savior” in a less than fully salvific sense. This is how John Calvin, for instance, explains Paul’s assertion. On the other hand other good interpreters have noted that Paul often uses “all” to mean “all kinds” rather than “every last person on the planet” or “every person who has ever lived.” They rightly point out that he uses “all men” to mean “all kinds or types of people” on at least three occasions in 1 Timothy (see 2:1,4, and 6). This reading would suggest that Paul’s meaning is that God is savior of all kinds of people. This seems closer to the mark.
But let me suggest that Paul’s meaning is just not that difficult to grasp here. In fact, I would suggest that everywhere in the New Testament that we find the emphasis on God as savior of “all men” or Christ as savior “of the world” the inspired biblical writers are pressing home and reveling in three grand realities simultaneously: (1) that there is only one Savior God and one way of salvation for all mankind – our savior God is the only saving hope for the whole of humanity; (2) that our Savior God is not only the savior of the Jews but also of the Gentiles; and (3) that our savior God is not merely the savior of some tiny remnant of Israel or the savior of some exclusive Judaizing or Gnostic few, but rather that He is the savior of a multitude that none can number. We won’t get into a debate over particular redemption here! But suffice it to say, this verse says nothing to undermine the glorious truth that Christ died for His own sheep, and that all those and only those who are chosen of His Father believe on Him.

August 17, 2004
For more than a decade our regular worship attendance at both morning services has exceeded our sanctuary seating capacity by a significant percentage. Thus, over three years ago, on behalf of the Session, in a Sunday morning pre-service announcement, I informed the congregation that we were exploring options relating to sanctuary expansion.
    Well, I have some exciting news. This past Monday evening, the Session of First Presbyterian Church took an important step forward on this project – a project they have been studying for around four years.
    Having looked at all reasonable options, including: (1) building a new sanctuary on property the church already owns (to the north or south, on the parking lots) and connecting it to the current facility, (2) adding a permanent third Sunday morning service and going to two or more Sunday Schools, (3) multiplication of video rooms; (4) relocation of the total church facility; and (5) planting another area church with a large core group out of this congregation –and having slowly and carefully followed a detailed process of analysis and planning– the Session has committed, instead, to proceed toward a sanctuary expansion on our present sanctuary site.
    The Elders of the Church, this past Monday night, voted overwhelmingly to approve a major program of Building Renovation and Sanctuary Expansion for First Presbyterian Church. Having seen the preliminary architectural proposals, the Session has determined that this plan best addresses the combination of concerns relating to financial stewardship, logistical matters, and congregational health, growth and outreach. Over the next several weeks and months, every effort will be made to communicate to the congregation the details of this plan, so that the congregation is fully apprised before you are asked to give your informed consent and enthusiastic support to this major project.
    It should perhaps be stressed that this plan entails more than just sanctuary enlargement. It includes new and improved nursery space, new Sunday School space, an expanded library/bookstore/resource center, new and expanded restroom facilities in convenient proximity to the sanctuary, a new greeting courtyard, the widening of certain parts of the hallways leading to the sanctuary, an expansion of the narthex and more, as well as the provision of a new, spacious and beautiful sanctuary that retains the dignity and grandeur of our beloved present sanctuary’s interior and exterior.
Ruling Elder Jim Moore has been appointed chairman of the committee that will be working hard to explain the plan to you and to answer your questions before the congregational meeting is held, and afterwards. The Elders and Deacons will meet jointly on this matter in a few weeks and then a date for a congregational meeting will be set.
    No communication from the Elders to the congregation has been possible up to this point, because not all the analysis had been completed and the Session had not settled on its recommendation. Now that that lengthy and detailed process has been completed, the Elders are committed to a full effort at communication with the congregation. Before we meet as a congregation there will be many opportunities for you to gather the information that you will want to have about this momentous project. Should you have immediate questions, I (or any of the ministerial staff) would be delighted to be of assistance, as would Ruling Elders Jim Moore; Denny Terry, and Orrin Swayze, chair and vice-chairmen of the Session’s Sanctuary Expansion committee; Gene McRoberts, chairman of the Session’s Management Committee; Alan Walters, chairman of the Session’s Strategic Planning Committee; or Larry Houchins, chairman of the Board of Deacons.
    Above all, join me and the rest of the Session in prayer about this exciting and challenging opportunity

Permit me a brief advertisement.
This is a special edition of The First Epistle and an important experiment, so please give us your feedback. A few times in the coming couple of months, we will produce The First Epistle in a new format, solicit your response and then the Session will determine whether we will adopt the new layout and expanded format in the new year. Our desire is to be able to bring you more articles, devotional material, book reviews, inspiration and instruction along with the regular announcements relating to the life of the congregation.
    The new format of The First Epistle will allow me to write a “Pastor’s Perspective” column every week, Derek to write his “Understanding the Times” column every week, and then for the church staff to contribute regularly – writing about issues and activities in their part of the ministry, and addressing pastoral concerns relating to Christian education, parenting, covenant children, music, student ministry, singles, pastoral care, missions, diaconal care, women in the church and more. So, email us or drop us a note in the mail or catch us in the church hallways somewhere – and tell us what you think. Any minister or church staff member or elder or Communications Committee member would be interested to hear your input.
    Now, on to the column proper. A number of months ago, I came across a convicting and helpful quote. It comes from the pen of an early twentieth century Scottish Congregationalist theologian named P.T. Forsyth. Forsyth’s theology is not uniformly reliable, but it seems to me that he gets this point right: “What the Church needs today is not more or better technology, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use — men of prayer, men of mighty prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on technology, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer. The man —God’s man— is made in the prayer closet. His life and his profoundest convictions are born in his secret communion with God. The burdened and tearful agony of his spirit, his weightiest and sweetest messages are received when he is alone with God. Prayer makes the man; prayer makes the preacher; prayer makes the pastor.” These words ring even truer today, now that we stand in the twenty-first century, than when Forsyth first wrote them. Yet all around us there are ministers, churches and ministries chasing one fad after the next. Surely his words are timely in that regard.
    But what struck me, especially, was his call to prayer. I know that I need to be more a man of prayer, and I know that my fellow ministers yearn to be men mighty in prayer. So, as a congregation, would you pray for us to become men who could be considered mighty in prayer, and who would in fact be mighty in prayer? And will you intercede for us using the words of Ephesians 6:19-20. “Pray on my behalf” says Paul there. If the Apostle Paul needed Christians’ prayers, how much more do we need yours? Pray, (1) for our earnestness and faithful consistency in proclaiming the Word. That every time we open our mouths, we will steadfastly preach the truth (“in the opening of my mouth”); (2) that we would clearly speak just the things that God would have us speak (“that . . . utterance would be given to me”); (3) that we would have a holy boldness and Gospel freedom in our preaching (“to make known with boldness”) because you don’t want a man who will tell you what you want to hear, but one who will tell you what you need to hear! And pray, (4) that we would make known the mystery of the Gospel, lifting up Christ crucified. If we are to “to make known . . . the mystery of the gospel,” then there is to be a proper Gospel-focus in our preaching.

We were greatly blessed this last Lord’s Day, morning and evening, by Derrick Burt’s singing and by David Jussely’s preaching. What a joy it is to worship with you here at First Presbyterian Church!

    Many of you have commented appreciatively about the remarks in last Sunday morning’s sermon relating to Marcus Borg’s assertions about Christianity. We were working our way through 2 John 5-13, and had come across John’s exhortation to Christians to be watchful in the truth and to remain faithful to the biblical witness about the person and work of Jesus. John says there “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds” (2 John 7-11).

    We learned several things in our study of this passage. (1) John is simply following Jesus’ warnings about false teachers (cf. Mark 13:22-23). (2) This false teaching to which he is referring strikes at the very heart of the faith – it does not acknowledge the incarnation of Jesus the Divine Messiah. These false teachers do not embrace the biblical teaching about Jesus person and work. This is quintessential heresy. (3) Not surprisingly then, John is unequivocal in his denunciation of this teaching – it is the work of Satan the deceiver and is antichrist. Consequently, John warns Christians to be on guard against the deception of this teaching lest we become spiritual losers. (4) John elaborates his description and his denunciation of the false teachers. They claim to be taking Christian knowledge to a new level, “going beyond” the old and outmoded. But when one leaves the unchanging truth of Christ, one not only loses Christ, one also loses God. Reject the Son – lose the Father too. Embrace the Son and you have the Father. (5) Finally, says the Apostle of Love, these false teachers are not to be welcomed, shown hospitality, or afforded respect in the Christianity community, but rather shunned. John is so emphatic that he says that any show of hospitality makes one an accomplice of the false teacher.

    The timing of our study of this passage and last Saturday’s Clarion-Ledger story on Marcus Borg was impeccable. Borg is a religion professor at Oregon State who has gained notoriety through his own writings and through his affiliation with the so-called “Jesus Seminar.”  Three of Borg’s views highlighted there caught my attention: (1) his pluralism – that is, his denial that Christ is the exclusive path to God. He says “I could not be a Christian if it claimed that” (an ironic statement, if ever there was one!); (2) his new paradigm – that is, his proposal that there are two forms of Christianity, which he calls the “earlier” and “emerging” – he is a proponent of the latter paradigm; (3) his declaration about the mainline churches –  that “the leadership of all mainline denominations is committed to the emerging paradigm.”

    Several observations are in order. First, Borg’s pluralism will find no support in Jesus’ own teaching. Jesus said,  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). New Testament Christianity follows Jesus in lock-step on this issue declaring that “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Second, Borg is honest enough to admit that the emerging paradigm leaves behind close to 2,000 years of Christian belief, including that of the earliest Christians and the earliest Christian writings. The only issue is, does anything that does that qualify to be called “Christian” in any meaningful sense? Third, while Borg wants to reach out to those leaving the mainline churches in droves, and views his new spin on Christianity as the answer, he fails to realize the implication of his own admission that the mainline churches’ leadership already embraces his paradigm – if people are leaving the mainline church, it is not because the new paradigm has not been tried there, but rather that it has been tried and found wanting. In short, the new paradigm is the perfect first catechism for paganism. Embrace Borg’s views and there is no further need to hold on to the title of Christian – there’s no substance left anyway.

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April 1, 2004

I enjoyed my three days in Orlando at the Ligonier Ministries National Conference last week. Joining R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, Sinclair Ferguson and Bob Godfrey was a real treat. It was also great to have some First Pres members there! The conference theme was "A Portrait of God" and focused in the character and attributes of God. This week Anne, the children, and I are doing what so many of you are doing – taking a few days off!

Many of you have been asking about the church’s view on Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ. It seems that Derek’s passing remarks a couple of weeks ago in "Understanding the Times" caught your attention! Well, the Session has wisely taken no position and made no statement on the movie, one way or another. The Deacons asked me to make a few remarks at their meeting last week, which I happily provided in written form. This is available on the church website at www.fpcjackson.org/recent.htm along with some other material on the movie.

Speaking of Derek. He and I are now featured on one of World magazine’s weblogs called  Jenny Geddes’ Stool. For those of you who are bloggers, we’d invite you to visit there.

For the rest of today’s column, I’d like to reflect with you a bit on worship. The subject is always on my mind, and it is one of the highlights of my life to be able to join with the saints of First Presbyterian, Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day, morning and evening, in corporate worship.

Christian corporate worship both requires and shapes our understanding of the Bible’s teaching about God. The doctrine of God informs our corporate worship and, in turn, our corporate worship refines our practical comprehension and embrace of the doctrine of God. To put it more simply: who we think God is profoundly impacts how we worship Him, and how we worship God in turn profoundly impacts what we come to think of Him.

It is, of course, true that worship in all of life impacts our corporate worship. We are to glorify God in everything we do. And that too contributes to our corporate worship. One who does not "present his body as a living sacrifice" in the whole of life on the other six days of the week is both unprepared to enter into the fullness of corporate worship as it is envisioned in the word and is not expressing one of its principle intended ethical effects. In fact, the person in whom there is an experiential dissonance between his activity in gathered worship and his worship in the rest of life is in danger of creating a parallel but juxtaposed life, the breeding ground of a fatal spiritual hypocrisy.

Nevertheless, it is especially in the local church, under the means of grace appointed by God for the edification of the church, and in the context of corporate worship that we come to know God. This is the place that God has designed for our most important corporate discipleship to occur.

What are these corporate "means of grace" to which we allude above? Well, first, the word read and preached in corporate worship is a means of grace. Faith comes by hearing, and so the reading and preaching of the Bible is integral to Christian worship. Second, public prayer—pleading the promises of the Bible, adoring and thanking the God of the Bible, confessing sin, interceding for the saints—is an ordinary means of grace. Prayer is the soul of religion. Third, the sacraments—baptism and the Lord’s Supper—the divinely appointed tangible confirmatory signs and seals of Bible promises are means of grace. By the way, by means of grace we are simply indicating the ways that God has appointed that all His children would grow in grace in Christ.

This context (the local church, God’s means of grace, corporate Lord’s Day worship) provides for both the revelational and relational aspects of Christian discipleship necessary for growth in the knowledge of God. Consequently, how we worship is vital to our growth in grace and in the knowledge of the one true God, because it contributes to our grasp of the one true God. Often we hear, and agree with, the dictum that "we become like what we worship," but the Reformed understanding of worship teaches us that it is also true that "we become like how we worship."

This is because who God is is definitive for how we worship Him. This is precisely what Jesus was telling the Samaritan woman when He said "God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The "how" of new covenant worship is not ultimately derived from temporary, transitional, positive law, or even new covenant norms, but rather is based upon the character of God Himself.

Correspondingly, corporate worship as the locus, the place, of God’s prime means of grace is the instrument that God has chosen to grow and edify His church in the knowledge of Himself, as well as the vehicle of our special earthly communion with Him (Matthew 18).

It is also important to remember that worship is a response to revelation. God takes initiative in revelation, promise and blessing. His people respond in hearing, believing, praise/adoration/confession/thanksgiving. This divine, covenantal pattern is reflected in the true worship of every biblical age, whatever the peculiar distinctives, and yields the irreducible core of reading, preaching (God’s initiative in revelation) and singing and praying (our response to revelation).

None of these thoughts are easy to get our heads around. Perhaps you’re still scratching yours after reading this for the third time! If so, and if you’d like a little more reflection on corporate worship, let me suggest you pop by the church bookstore and pick up a copy of Give Praise to God (P&R).

Since we were created and redeemed to worship, it behooves us to do a little reflection on the task!

Hope your Spring Break was relaxing. Now let’s make those Faith Promise commitments so that missionaries around the world can call the nations to the worship of the only living and true God.

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March 9, 2004
Jesus once said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." (Matthew 13:44) The sense of the value, the significance, the importance of the kingdom of God is what produces the readiness to sacrifice displayed by this man who "sells all that he has." In other words, the sense of the prime importance (and blessedness) of God’s kingdom, builds in this man a sense of desire and mission, which is expressed in self-denial (in this case manifested in the selling of all he owns).

We live in a generation that knows more about self-indulgence than self-denial. But especially since we are a privileged congregation, without question among the wealthiest Christians in the history of the world, blessed with enormous resources (and tempted to use those resources merely for their own pleasure), we must embrace the Christian grace of self-denial – in light of the stupendous value of the kingdom.

The irony of the self-denial of Matthew 13:44 is that the self-denier becomes the gainer, because "he gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." What would happen if we were using our worldly resources — financial, material and otherwise — in the service of the mission of the kingdom and with this truth in mind? The very suggestion is mind-boggling. But it will have to begin with self-denial. And, oh, this life has become so comfortable.

What we need today is Christians who know they are in a fight – a fight to the death. The signs are all around us. The vestiges of Christendom are falling about our ears and we in the West are entering into a post-Constantinian era (eerily like the pre-Constantinian era) for the first time in seventeen centuries. And yet, even in this, there is great hope. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us," said Gandalf. Will we sit on our hands and hope for the return of the Eisenhower years? Or will we engage with principalities and powers, preferring the treasure of the kingdom to earthly comforts? Not without self-denial we won’t. For there can be no victory in this fight without expense, no triumph without cost, no real gain without real sacrifice. Such was God’s way with His only begotten Son, should His adopted heirs expect any different? No, salvation is the free gift that costs you everything; and if we are to tread the head of serpent under our feet, it will be with self-denial.

"The first lesson in Christ’s school is self-denial," said Matthew Henry. We need more Christians in that school. Ever think about what words the "Battle-hymn of the Reformation" (Luther’s "A Mighty Fortress is Our God") concludes with? A stirring call to kingdom-inspired self-denial – "Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still; His kingdom is forever." Really? Let money and family go? Yep, that’s what Luther said. He had read Matthew 13:44.

As Douglas Southall Freeman brought his masterful, Pulitzer prize-winning four volume biography of Robert E. Lee to a close, he paused to reflect upon the character of the General and the great principles which motivated him in life. He identified several: duty, kindness, humility, submission to God’s Will, and finally — self-denial. Freeman observed this about Lee and then illustrated it: "Of humility and submission was born a spirit of self-denial that prepared him for the hardships of the war and, still more, for the dark destitution that followed it. This self-denial was, in some sense, the spiritual counterpart of the social self-control his mother had inculcated in his boyhood days, and it grew in power throughout his life. His own misfortunes typified the fate of the Confederacy and of its adherents. Through it all, his spirit of self-denial met every demand upon it, and even after he went to Washington College and had an income on which he could live easily, he continued to deny himself as an example to his people. Had his life been epitomized in one sentence of the Book he read so often, it would have been in the words, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ And if one, only one, of all the myriad incidents of his stirring life had to be selected to typify his message, as a man, to the young Americans who stood in hushed awe that rainy October morning as their parents wept at the passing of the Southern Arthur, who would hesitate in selecting that incident? It occurred in Northern Virginia, probably on his last visit there. A young mother brought her baby to him to be blessed. He took the infant in his arms and looked at it and then at her and slowly said, ‘Teach him he must deny himself.’ That is all. There is no mystery in the coffin there in front of the windows that look to the sunrise."

Surely, kingdom-inspired self-denial is a grace and fruit of the Holy Spirit we could use a good deal more of.

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December 24, 2003
Well, we’ve come to the last First Epistle and the last Pastor’s Perspective column of the year. There is much to say and little space to say it in.

            First, remember your year-end giving to the church. We have a lot of ground to make up in our final two weeks of the year (around $430,000) if we are to meet our 2003 budget. While you are at it, remember to make a financial commitment to the work of the church for the 2004 ministry year. Pledge cards are still available in the pews.

            Second, remember that this year’s Music of Christmas is at 4:00 and 6:00 o’clock p.m. on this coming Sunday. This is a time change – it makes both services more convenient to attend, and should help families with children.

            Third, let me mention that Derek and I have a new book that has just come out this week. It is called Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship – Celebrating the Legacy of James Montgomery Boice. We co-authored and co-edited this volume with our friend Phil Ryken. P&R has published the book, and it is available through our church bookstore (or RTS or any other good Christian bookstore). Its topic is timely. All the contributors desire to see biblical worship restored and flourishing in the Bible-believing, Christ-exalting, Gospel-preaching churches of today. This book is no less than an outline for a biblical program for the renewal of Christian worship in our time. It is a corporate worship manifesto, a call for the doxological reformation of the church: according to Scripture alone and to the glory of God alone. R.C. Sproul was kind enough to provide the foreword, and among the authors will you find Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Eric Alexander, Hughes Old, Bob Godfrey, Don Whitney, and others.

            One of the main convictions of this book is that Christian corporate worship both requires and shapes our understanding of the Bible’s teaching about God. The doctrine of God informs our corporate worship and, in turn, our corporate worship refines our practical comprehension and embrace of the doctrine of God. It is, of course, true that worship in all of life impacts our corporate worship. One who does not “present his body as a living sacrifice” is both unprepared to enter into the fullness of corporate worship as it is envisioned in the word and is not expressing one of its principle intended ethical effects. In fact, the person in whom there is an experiential  dissonance between his activity in gathered worship and his worship in the rest of life is in danger of creating a parallel but juxtaposed life, the breeding ground of a fatal spiritual hypocrisy. Nevertheless, it is especially in the local church under the means of grace appointed by God for the edification of the church in corporate worship (the word—reading, preaching, singing the Bible; prayer—pleading the promises of the Bible, adoring and thanking the God of the Bible, confessing sin, interceding for the saints; and the sacraments—the divinely appointed tangible confirmatory signs of Bible promises) that we come to know God. This context provides for both the revelational and relational aspects of Christian discipleship necessary for growth in the knowledge of God. Consequently, the “how” of worship is vital to our growth in grace and in the knowledge of the one true God, because it contributes to our grasp of the one true God. Often we hear, and agree with, the dictum that “we become like what we worship,” but the biblical view of worship teaches us that it is also true that “we become like how we worship.”

            One last thing, in the New Year we will return to our series on 1 John on Sunday mornings. Psalms will temporarily resume on Sunday evenings before moving to Wednesday night in mid-January. At that same time Derek is starting a new Sunday evening series on the Gospel of Mark.

            Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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October 22, 2003----

Recently I was invited to be a panelist in a discussion of the meaning of salvation at Millsaps College, our across-the-street neighbor. Various "faith traditions" were represented: Judaism, Hinduism, Methodism, Catholicism, mainline Presbyterianism. I was the conservative evangelical entry.

We were each asked to give a fifty to a hundred word written definition of what we believed about salvation, and then to elaborate on it in our opening short presentation of our view. Discussion and questions were, both alike, cordial and constructive, and it was very interesting to hear the other panelists articulate their own approaches to salvation.

Since I mentioned this in a sermon, several of you have asked if I would make my statement available. I’m glad to do so. Here it is.

"Historic Christianity claims that salvation is the free gift and action of God, whereby any, all and only those who trust in his Son, Jesus, who is Lord and Messiah, are delivered out of their condition of sin and misery, and are brought into a condition of forgiveness, new life, membership in God’s family, increasing holiness, and eternal fellowship with God.

In salvation, put provocatively, we are "saved" from God, by God and for God. That is, we are saved from God’s just judgment (against ourselves and our sins), by God’s gracious gift of His Son (who bore our deserved penalty in our place), for God’s own glory and eternal fellowship with him (since he made and redeemed us for himself).

To elaborate, when we Christians say that we are "saved" we mean that we have been spared, rescued, reclaimed and re-enfolded – spared from the penalty of sin, rescued from its power and consequences, reclaimed by God’s gracious initiative and re-enfolded into his family. The good news of Christian salvation is that God loves us at the cost of his Son.

The Bible describes the various aspects of salvation in many ways. Salvation means (1) being declared right with God, even though we are sinners; (2) being given a new heart, new desires, new priorities in life; (3) being made part of God’s family; (4) being made like Jesus Christ, morally speaking; and (5) being brought into friendship with God." God’s gracious salvation always entails our (1) turning from sin, and (2) trusting in Christ.

Let me mention a few things about this definition in passing. First, you will already have noted that it is much longer than 100 words. Insert your favorite long-winded preacher joke here! Second, this definition focuses on the personal or individual dimension of salvation. I could have easily elaborated the Bible’s emphasis on the corporate or collective aspects of salvation (but that would have taken even more words!). Third, this definition does not begin with creation, elaborate on the fall of man, or set salvation in its larger, cosmic context. This is important to do, when talking to post-moderns who have no "meta-narrative" (or who have forgotten where they put it!). Fourth, I chose to emphasize what I emphasized in order to get quickly to the issue Christianity’s exclusive truth claims about salvation only being in Christ.

For all these reasons, the definition is limited, but will perhaps be thought-provoking and helpful to some of you.

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Part 1
    Over the last several months, I have been approached on many occasions by officers, ministers, staff, and church members, and asked to share "my vision" for First Presbyterian Church. I understand by this request that there is a desire for me to clearly set forth and explain the focused goals of my service among you and my dreams for the future health, growth, and ministry of the church. This is perfectly appropriate, as long as one recognizes the truth of James 4:13-15 and Proverbs 16:9. In no sense, however, would I want you to think that I am under the delusion that "my vision" is some sort of sovereign, unilateral dictate. I am not only well aware of the Session’s corporate role in the leadership and vision of the church, I revel in it.

At the same time, I have been able to share these "dreams" of mine with the elders of the church on several occasions, and I think that they have resonated with what I have laid out before them. So, I thought over the next several weeks, I would share with you, the congregation, some of these dreams and aspirations. Bear in mind, then, that what I present here is deliberately designed not to be merely reflective of one individual’s expression of opinions and desires, or the vision of one teaching elder among many ruling elders. Instead, it is a fresh restatement of an historic, standing, and growing Sessional consensus about the ministry of our church.

The prime source of the vision I wish to share is found in the Bible, and especially the Pastoral Epistles of Paul, where he sets forth the God-given principles of healthy church life. The whole of the Scripture is our infallible rule of faith and practice, but especially the New Testament guides us in the principles of new covenant congregational life. Acts gives us a picture of apostolic church life. Revelation 2-3 reveals Jesus’ evaluation of the early churches. The Pastoral letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) teach us about church administration, public worship, qualifications for ministers, elders, and deacons, how women are to be involved in the work of the church, the church’s responsibility to provide for its needy, how to give spiritual counsel to aged men and women and young men and women, and more. They stress sound doctrine, demand consecrated living, show the value of creeds and confessions, reveal the closing activities in the life of the Apostle Paul and disclose what church life was like toward the end of the first century. They are written for our instruction: they show us what Christian ministry is supposed to be like (Paul expects us to pattern our ministry thusly – he is not simply making suggestions [see 2 Thessalonians 3:14!], but rather laying down a permanent pattern for Christian ministry). I want to be clear in saying that I do not have any authority to depart from God’s inspired, authoritative, and infallible word in envisioning the future of the church. I aim to be faithful to his vision, not to create an alternative.

There are, however, other sources on which I lean to gain wisdom for direction for our common future. They are not on the same par with Scripture and indeed each to different degrees are actually themselves dependent on the wisdom of Scripture, but they are significant influences nevertheless because they guide us by showing how wise and godly people have applied the principles of Scripture to specific circumstances in the life of the church. One of those resources is church history and especially the Reformed tradition (tradition, rightly understood and employed is the "living faith of the dead," rather than "the dead faith of the living" as Jaroslav Pelikan has reminded us). Godly Christians and churches of the past have much to teach us in tackling church life in our own time. Another resource is our corporate, public theology, and doctrinal standards (the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms). Since the authors of those great documents were expressly attempting to reform the church in its "doctrine, worship, discipline, and government," surely we have much to learn from them. A third resource is the history of First Presbyterian Church and the legacy of her former leaders. There have been giants among us in days past, and we ignore their wisdom at our peril. Fourth, there is the Session of First Church. I am but one elder amongst a brotherhood of elders, all of whom are jointly vested with the responsibility of guiding the church. I draw from their wisdom in what I am about to outline. Finally, there is the church’s mission statement, adopted by our Session a little over a decade ago. It is a fine document, and I have drawn much wisdom from it.

Part 2 
    Last week, I began a series, in this column, dealing with a "vision" for the future of First Presbyterian Church. By that, I mean that I will attempt to clearly articulate, set forth, and explain the focused goals of my service among you, as well as my dreams for the future health, growth, and ministry of the church. Last time, we talked about the sources of this "vision." This week, I want to look at the church’s "Mission Statement."

A number of years ago (long before I came as minister), the Session adopted this helpful formulation of this church’s mission and purpose. Our church’s "Mission Statement" reads as follows: "Church Mission/Purpose – First Presbyterian Church is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. We believe that the Holy Scriptures are the infallible word of God and are our only guide for faith and life. We therefore believe that adherence to the Scriptures and this system of belief known as the Reformed Faith demands a vital and vibrant witness because men are spiritually lost apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Many challenging opportunities present themselves to the believer in Jesus Christ —opportunities to witness, to serve, to grow spiritually, and to apply faith in every area of life. Our highest aim is to glorify God and to promote His kingdom."

It goes on to specify three areas or aspects of its work (Worship—Discipleship—Outreach) and then says: "First Presbyterian Church purposes to stand as a Reformed witness to Jackson, the surrounding community, and ultimately to the world through the proclamation of the whole counsel of God as written in the verbally inspired, infallible Scriptures. With His word as our authority, this body of believers seeks to glorify God through regular public worship characterized by the faithful preaching and teaching of the word in order to encourage and equip the saints to do the work of the church in ministering to individuals, families, the community and the world. Through Christian education, fellowship, evangelism, discipleship, and mission opportunities, First Presbyterian Church seeks to be obedient in fulfilling the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Our mission is clear, biblical, and thus not up for review. I am fully committed to it, without reservation or desire for amendment. The question is, how does it translate into the matter of the "vision of the church" five, ten, or twenty-five years down the road? And further, how does it inform our approach to spiritual health, ministry, growth, and expansion issues? We will begin our quest to answer such questions (humbly, and in total dependence upon the Lord), in next week’s column.

We have recently entered into the eighth year of my ministry here at First Presbyterian, so this is a good time to pause and reflect on where we are and where we are going. So, next week, we’ll begin considering the "where we are" part.

Part 3
    For the last couple of weeks, I have been dealing with the question of a "vision" for the future of First Presbyterian Church. As I have said before, I mean by "vision" that I will attempt to clearly articulate, set forth and explain the focused long-term goals of my service among you, as well as my dreams for the future health, growth, and ministry of the church. We have talked about the sources of this "vision" and last week looked at the church’s "Mission Statement." This week, we will begin to do a little analysis of where we are now (before we launch into the question of where we may be headed). It will probably take me at least two articles to cover the necessary ground on this subject.

1. Our congregation is one of the largest Presbyterian churches in the United States, and one of the flagship congregations of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). To be specific, FPC is one of the 20 or so largest Presbyterian Churches of any kind in North America, and the fifth or sixth largest PCA congregation. It is also the largest Presbyterian church in Mississippi. Now, the size of the church doesn’t mean we are better than other churches, but it does mean that we have a greater stewardship from and responsibility to God. It also means that we need to view ourselves as a "resource church." That is, we need to recognize, in light of our extraordinary resources, our responsibility and opportunity to help and minister to other churches which lack our assets.

2. God has chosen to use ministers, elders, and members of First Church to play a significant role in establishing the PCA (the nation’s largest conservative Presbyterian denomination), Reformed Theological Seminary (a leading theological training center for evangelical ministry with campuses in Jackson; Charlotte, North Carolina; Orlando, Florida; and elsewhere), and Reformed University Ministries (the PCA’s nationwide campus fellowship ministry). Hence, the church has already served as a major resource for the promotion of church health and growth over the last half century. That legacy needs to be remembered and continued, self-consciously. In other words, the folk of First Presbyterian have already been viewing themselves as a "resource church" for a half century, and have been acting accordingly. That means, we, the current membership, need to be ready to take the baton and run the race, mindful of the faithfulness and fruitfulness of those who have gone before us. We have a role to play, it seems, in the encouragement of the health and growth of the PCA and larger Reformed movement.

3. Our church’s preaching/teaching ministry is followed on radio both in and outside of Mississippi. Morning services are carried in East Central Mississippi (and into Alabama) on WWSL 102.3FM. In Central Mississippi, WJNT 1180AM carries "First Things"—a talk format radio program that features interviews with major Christian leaders, stimulating theological discussion, cultural commentary, book reviews, and more. This program is accessible worldwide via the internet. These voices provide us with an important, unedited, and uninterpreted access to the people of the city and state, and have served to supply a positive experience of our congregation and ministry to thousands in our area throughout the state.

4. The expository messages from our worship services are being carried on radio and internet, nationally and internationally. Lightsource.com and Christianity.com of Washington, DC, distribute our sermons (and even some Sunday School classes) via the internet, compact disc and MP3. The church’s website, fpcjackson.org, is chock full of information and Christian resources and is extensively used by the broader Christian community. The traffic to our church website has grown considerably since we started up just a few years ago. This offers the opportunity for a ministry on international scale, and is thus consistent with our resource church stewardship.

5. Sunday morning services are broadcast (with a one-week tape delay) at 10 a.m. Sundays on WLBT Channel 3, the local NBC affiliate, and are picked up in other broadcast areas in our state. A wide audience across the whole state follows these programs. Tens of thousands of Mississippians have benefited from this medium. We are constantly approached by appreciative audience members for these broadcasts. It is yet another way that the church provides the Gospel message to believers and unbelievers alike, while speaking directly to the culture (without being pre-interpreted or re-interpreted by someone else). It is a powerful communications tool to show who we are and what we stand for to the statewide community.

Part 4  10/15/2003
    For the last three weeks, we have been sketching a "vision" for the future of First Presbyterian Church. Last week, we began to do a little analysis of where we are now (before we launch into the question of where we may be headed). We pointed out five specific aspects about our current congregational life and ministry. We continue today with number 6.

6. Three areas, membership, attendance and giving, need to be mentioned here. First Presbyterian has experienced major numerical growth since 1950 (from about 500 members to about 3400 members). Even in the last seven years, we have grown at twice the rate of the PCA, from 3187 members in 1995 to 3397 members in 2002, and that even after some extensive roll purging measures. The growth in church attendance is even more marked. Sunday morning services, Sunday evening worship and Wednesday night prayer meeting are all seeing historic highs in terms of people present. While numerous young families have joined the church in recent days, it is interesting to note that communicant membership has grown in the last seven years (2544 tp 2852), while the numbers of non-communicant members have fallen (643 to 550). In the area of giving, the numbers are dramatic. The church had $4,462,663 in contribution is 1995 and $7,255,387 in 2002 (despite a weak economy).

Significantly, these numbers show that giving has grown by approximately 70% since 1995, while membership has grown by "only" about 6%. By the way, 6% growth puts us well ahead of the PCA’s denominational growth rate for the year. All of these trends buck national averages. Importantly, our church records indicate that there are around 1300 current members of First Presbyterian who were not members in 1994 and there are about 950 who have been removed from the rolls during that time. Assuming that the bulk of those were members in 1994, that means that there has been around a 2350 member turnover within the last ten years! This is a brand new congregation. The importance of training, discipleship and communication cannot be over stressed. The giving and attendance numbers, especially, are signs of church health and spiritual commitment, for which we are thankful.

By the way, while we are mentioning giving numbers, we should note the following statistics on missions giving. In 1996, the church gave $556,495 to missions, church planting and campus ministry. In 2002, that giving was $994,799. In 2003, for the first time ever, commitments topped a million.

To put it in perspective, we have come close to doubling our missions giving through Faith Promise since 1996. We have focused on the hearts of our givers, on the Bible’s teaching on giving and on missions, the ministerial staff has deliberately downplayed external artificial pressures on the people of God and instead depended on his Word and Spirit to cultivate their generosity.

7. Recent demographic trends have concerned some about the future of the city of Jackson, and Hinds County. Nevertheless, alongside a number of positive developments, records indicate that the church is drawing an increasing number of members from outlying areas. It seems that our city center location is strategic for a multi-county outreach. We are, in fact, more and more a multi-county church (drawing heavily from Rankin and Madison counties, as well as Hinds). People routinely pass 20 churches to get to First.

8. The church facility is strategically located in a major medical-educational triangle. Surrounded by the University of Mississippi Medical Center, St. Dominic’s Jackson, and the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center (and not far away from a number of other health facilities), as well as by Belhaven College and Millsaps College, the church is poised to make an impact on all these communities as well as to draw membership from them. Situated at a major traffic confluence (the I-55/Woodrow Wilson corridor, the North State Street/Fortification intersection, the Riverside Drive/Lakeland Drive entrance-way), no other church in the state has a better location. Furthermore, we have all this and yet remain a "downtown church." We have the benefit of being close to the heart of the city and yet anchored in an old, beautiful and revitalizing neighborhood.

Part 5  10/22/2003
    This is my fifth in a series of columns sketching a "vision" for the future of First Presbyterian Church, and we are still doing a little analysis of where we are now (before we launch into the question of where we may be headed). We’ve already covered eight specific aspects about our current congregational life and ministry. We continue today with number 9.

9. The church also has two truly extraordinary ministry arms in the Day School and Twin Lakes. First Presbyterian Day School (FPDS) is among the finest elementary schools in the state and region. It not only serves as a ministry to our covenant children, but also provides a strategic opportunity for a corporate witness to and influence on the whole metropolitan community. Hundreds of years ago John Knox realized that if you are going to reform a nation, you have to have strong churches and schools, and so there was a Christian school started in every parish in Scotland. FPDS is following in that noble tradition. Furthermore, First Presbyterian Church may well be the only conservative Presbyterian congregation in North America that owns and operates a facility and ministry on the scale of our beloved Twin Lakes Conference Center. The ministry to youth and families generated there and the witness borne to the larger community, is staggering. You may not know it, but our Twin Lakes is a larger facility than our denomination’s retreat center in North Carolina. These both (the Day School and Twin Lakes) are trusts committed to our stewardship and vehicles for singular service and ministry.

10. We would be remiss if we failed to mention the remarkable ministerial staff assembled here. Think of it friends, we have nine staff ministers, devoted to fostering the spiritual life and well-being of the entire congregation (by the way, four of them have earned doctorates, another is about to complete postgraduate studies, one holds a chair of theology in a major academic institution and another once did so). Our Executive Minister, Bill Hughes, is a veteran minister with great wisdom and experience. He oversees the whole staff and administration of the church. He also chairs the Mississippi Joint Committee on Campus Ministry (the committee that oversees the work of Reformed University Ministries, on behalf of presbytery, in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas), and has been an influential member of the PCA’s Administration Committee. Our Minister of Teaching, Dr. Derek Thomas, is one of the best Reformed preachers in the world today, holds the prestigious John E. Richards Chair of Practical Theology at RTS and is the author of numerous widely read and appreciated books. Derek shares the regular preaching responsibilities in the church (usually taking either Sunday evening or Wednesday evening services, and filling in while the Senior Minister is away). Our Minister of Music and Media, Dr. Bill Wymond, is a polymath, an extraordinarily gifted musician and teacher of the word. Bill directs our choir, is a first-class organist, a leader in the arts community, and has held just about every position on our church staff at one time or another. To say that he is much appreciated by our people is a gross understatement. Brister Ware, our Minister of Pastoral Care, is a son of this congregation and deeply loved by all. Brister cares for those in need, visits the infirm and shut-in, and truly pastors all of us. Nobody does traditional pastoral care better than Brister. He is nigh unto irreplaceable. Billy Joseph, our Minister of Congregational Care, was the Reformed University Fellowship campus minister at the University of Alabama for over 22 years(!) and has never met a stranger. He focuses on three areas of ministry: pastoral care as a means of discipling the whole congregation; strengthening the marriages of the church through pre-marital and marital counseling, teaching and relationship-building; and mentoring the deacons of the church in the ministry of mercy. Dr. Jim Stewart, our Minister of Outreach and Missions, himself a former missionary, has faithfully served for a number of years. He facilitates our whole program of evangelism and missions. Brad Mercer, our Minister of Discipleship, came to us from Pine Cove Conference Center in Texas, and is pouring his life into the discipleship of the men of our congregation. He believes in God’s appointed instruments of spiritual growth and seeks to see men shaped into more godly, humble, loving fathers, husbands, and leaders through the ordinary means of grace. Joe Holland, our new Minister to Students and Families, joined us in June of this year and has already made a major impact in leading our ministry to youth, overseeing our Junior High, High School, and College work.

8/21/2003
    Derek’s words of challenge to the men and women of First Church this past Sunday evening were sobering. He asked us to look at how we conduct ourselves with our co-workers, and to see whether we were placing ourselves in situations where we might fall prey to temptation. Interestingly, even the secular media and cultural-pundits are registering confirmation of the warnings he gave about crossing boundaries of appropriate male-female behavior in our work-places. Gannett News Service recently ran a report on "The New Infidelity: Affairs Without Sex" by Karen S. Peterson.

It went like this: "Beware the workplace! It could be hazardous to your marriage. Those wonderful friendships that make going to the office such fun can turn into a very romantic ‘emotional affair’ when three elements are present—and not one of them is sex, Baltimore psychologist and marital researcher Shirley P. Glass told Gannett News Service."

The article goes on to describe these three elements: "The signs of an emotional affair are: (1) Emotional Intimacy, When you share more about who you are—your hopes and dreams, frustrations and failures—with the other person than you do with your spouse, you are emotionally intimate; (2) Secrecy and Deception, Are you telling your spouse you’re meeting that wonderful colleague for lunch in the cafeteria every day? Lying reduces intimacy in a marriage; (3) Sexual Chemistry, If there is sexual chemistry between you, then at the very least there is an unacknowledged sexual attraction–even if you never act on it."

In the article, Gannett News Service reporter Karen S. Peterson warns "there’s a crisis of infidelity brewing in the cubicles of America’s offices. For the most part, the people who are involved are good folks in good marriages. They aren’t thrill seekers. But long hours working together and the bond of close friendship have created temptations. ‘The new infidelity is between people who unwittingly form deep, passionate connections before realizing that they’ve crossed the line from platonic friendship into romantic love,’ marital counselor Shirley Glass told Gannett. ‘Sometimes the greatest betrayals happen without touching. Infidelity is any emotional or sexual intimacy that violates trust.’ Glass is the author of the just-published book, Not "Just Friends": Protect Your Relationship from Infidelity and Heal the Trauma of Betrayal.

"‘This is the essence of the new crisis of infidelity: Friendships, work relationships, and Internet liaisons have become the latest threat to marriages,’ Glass explained to Gannett. A classic example of emotional infidelity is an affair in an Internet chat room. Why do we stray? Because we can. There is attraction. There is proximity. There is opportunity. If you wonder whether or not you’re part of an emotional affair, ask yourself this question: Would you be comfortable if your spouse could hear your conversations with your new friend or could view a videotape of your meetings? The answer pretty much says it all." (This article appeared in CompuServe’s News Digest)

There is much common sense here. Ah, sometimes the sons of this age are wiser than the sons of the next. Christian men and women, if we are going to maintain Christ-honoring, Gospel-adorning sexual purity, we are going to have to be careful in the workplace, in our use of email, in our web-surfing on the internet and in all our interactions with the opposite sex (and I suppose that I have to add, in our day and age, in our interactions with those of our own gender). Let’s pray for God to give us a grace-derived desire to honor Him in all our social relations and to honor our spouses in the way we relate to everyone else. And then let’s pray that He’ll give us the grace to persevere in that desire. "Give what you command, and command what you will."

Part 6
This is our sixth in a series of columns sketching a "vision" for the future of First Presbyterian Church, and we are still doing a little analysis of where we are now (before we launch into the question of where we may be headed). We’ve already covered 10 specific aspects about our current congregational life and ministry. Last week, I made several comments about our excellent ministerial staff, this week I want to mention a few things about some of our fine program staff. I have never served anywhere with a better program and support staff (and I don’t know that a better one exists). We like working together. We work hard, and we laugh a lot, too. By and large, we like one another.

It’s impossible to mention everyone here; but in addition to our ministers, I do want to highlight the work of a number of our program ministry leaders. Earl Davis is our Business Administrator. He does an almost impossible job extraordinarily well, and even smiles! Earl manages the whole facility, oversees our maintenance staff, facilitates the ministries of every department in the church, works alongside the Deacons, and coordinates with Twin Lakes on financial matters. Our Christian Education Director Donna Dobbs is a long-term staff member with an outstanding record of service and ministry. She is a sheer delight to work with, but don’t let her fun-loving spirit fool you —she is serious about Christian education and incredibly good at promoting and facilitating it. She is also a "secret weapon" when it comes to congregational care, because she knows and looks out for so many people. Along with her, Liz Griffin, our Women’s Ministry Coordinator, is highly educated, energetic, hard-working and devoted. Frances Hilburn also works in the Christian Education Ministry Team, coordinating VBS, Communicants Class and Children’s ministry here at FPC. Frances plays a vital role in all these areas.

Janet Quayle not only coordinates our nurseries and oversees the workers, she has long assisted and promoted the pastoral care ministry of the church. Stephane Jeanrenaud, our assistant in Discipleship, is on the way towards ordination, and set to become our tenth staff minister next year. He has overseen the most significant season of spiritual vitality and health amongst our Singles since Ed Norton’s time on the FPC staff, and works alongside Brad Mercer in the areas of men’s discipleship and couples groups. All of these folk share a common perspective on ministry and ministry aims.

Well, so far, we’ve talked about where we are now. From this point on we’ll turn our attention to where we are going.

Commitments for the First Presbyterian Church for the Next Quarter Century

We are in the midst of a major transitional time for the visible Church, in American culture in general, and Jackson in particular. Many mainline churches around us have fallen prey to liberalism and pluralism of various types, while many evangelical churches look more like the culture than the church. Our desire is to reach out without compromise—to stay faithful, but not to stand still. We want to remain faithful to God and His inerrant Word and to His vision for the Church, and at the same time be aggressive in fulfilling His mission for the Church. This means that the Church must again be distinct from the world in order to fulfill her mission.

Matthew 5:13-16 must loom large in our thinking if we are going to be able to stand firm without standing still. I’ll explain that next week.

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July 31, 2003
As we have studied through key issues in a biblical view of manhood and womanhood this summer on Wednesday evenings, our society has been rocked by a variety of developments on this front – notably in the courts (where Texas’ sodomy laws have been undermined and the historic definition of marriage with them) and in our schools (where evidence of rampant radical homosexual activism is clearer, and more disturbing, than ever).

    Just this week Gary Bauer commented: “For those who still don’t understand the threat to our society posed by the drive for same-sex ‘marriage,’ the latest edition of The Weekly Standard has two great essays on the topic.  The first, by author Maggie Gallagher, explains that marriage was designed to bridge the male-female divide and sustain the idea that children need mothers and fathers.  The second piece, by Stanley Kurtz of the Hoover Institution, outlines the shocking details of movements already underway and gaining strength to legalize polygamy and polyamory (group marriages).  All of these trends will fatally undermine monogamy and the nuclear family as societal norms, the effects of which will be devastating to generations of children and our entire nation.”

    Out of New York comes this shocking news: “The city is opening a full-fledged high school for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students - the first of its kind in the nation, The Post has learned. Operating for two decades as a small alternative program with just two classrooms, the new Harvey Milk HS officially opens as a stand-alone public school with 100 students in September. The school, located at 2 Astor Place, is undergoing a $3.2 million in city-funded renovations approved by the old Board of Education in June of last year. It will eventually take in 170 students by September 2004, more than tripling last year’s enrollment. The Hetrick-Martin Institute - the gay-rights youth-advocacy group that manages and helps finance the school in conjunction with the Department of Education - has hired the school’s first principal. ‘This school will be a model for the country and possibly the world,’ Principal William Salzman said in an interview at the facility. Salzman, a former Wall Street executive, was most recently assistant principal of guidance and business information technology at Brooklyn’s Automotive HS.” (From an article by Carl Campanile, in the New York Post, called “School’s Out”).

    In our very first session of Vive le difference! Christian Manhood and Womanhood: Thinking and Living biblically in a gender-neutral society on Wednesday, June 18, 2003, we said: “The issue of the nature of manhood and womanhood is very much at the heart of the cultural transition we find ourselves in the midst of right now. Male-female role relationships, the definition of a family, and the homosexual rights movement are bellwether issues of our culture. Behind them is a worldview megashift from a Judaeo-Christian (biblical) framework to an essentially religious-pagan (unbiblical) framework. However, this pagan framework is being actively imported into the church by many self-avowed Christian leaders, even evangelicals.” Bruce Ware explains: ‘Today, . . . , the primary areas in which Christianity is pressured by the culture to conform are on issues of gender and sexuality.  Postmoderns and ethical relativists care little about doctrinal truth claims; these seem to them innocuous, archaic, and irrelevant to life. What they do care about, and care with a vengeance, is whether their feminist agenda and sexual perversions are tolerated, endorsed, and expanded in an increasing neo-pagan landscape. Because this is what they care most about, it is precisely here that Christianity is most vulnerable. To lose the battle here is to subject the Church to increasing layers of departure. And surely, it will not be long until ethical departures (the Church yielding to feminist pressures for women’s ordination, for example) will yield even more central doctrinal departures (questioning whether Scripture’s inherent patriarchy renders it fundamentally untrustworthy, for example). I find it instructive that when Paul warns about departures from the faith in the latter days, he lists first ethical compromises and the searing of the conscience as the prelude to a full-scale doctrinal apostasy (1 Tim 4:1-5).’” Thus, we need to think straight and speak out, graciously and lovingly, but clearly and prophetically. Come join us as we attempt to help our congregation do just that on Wednesday nights. 

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July 24, 2003
Two weeks ago we had the privilege of ordaining Joe Holland to the Gospel ministry. He is our new Minister of Students and Families, and the occasion of his installation to this post gave me the opportunity to explain our philosophy of student ministry at First Presbyterian Church. We saw, from Deuteronomy 6, that our ministry to youth and families should be covenantal, relational, parental, discipleship-oriented, and ordinary means of grace-based ministry, designed to edify and equip the youth of our congregation for Christian living, and assist and encourage parents in the Christian nurture of their children. Allow me to elaborate.

When I say that our ministry is covenantal, I mean that it will be primarily aimed at the covenant children of this congregation. Our first priority is not to evangelize students outside of FPC, but to minister to the children of this congregation. Our goal with our own children is (as Durham put it so many years ago) "to bring them within the covenant who are without, and to make those who are within the covenant to walk suitably to it." In other words, we want to see the children of our church truly embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and we want to see them truly growing in grace. Of course, in every aspect of our church’s ministry we want to do the work of evangelism, and this is no different in our youth ministry. But our priority here is on the discipleship of covenant youth.

When I say that our ministry is relational, I mean that (though teaching and large group meetings will play a vital role) personal contact, in one-to-one meetings and small groups, and cultivation of friendships between staff, volunteers, and students will be key to effective discipleship. Hence, all the staff of the ministry will place a premium on and evidence gifts for relational work.

When I say that our ministry is parental, I mean that our goal is not to replace parental discipleship, nor usurp it, but to assist, encourage, support, supplement, and complement healthy family Christian nurture. The best "youth minister" in the world is two godly parents fostering faith of their children in the home, church, and school. We aim to help that, not replace it. We know, of course, that there are many parents longing for aid with their children, and we want to be a real, substantive, responsive support for them.

When I say that our ministry is discipleship-oriented, I mean that our goal is to see our young people become mature Christians rooted and grounded in grace, and not merely to facilitate large numbers of participants at youth activities, or to sponsor high-profile events. Our approach is people-based, rather than program-based, and our desire is not just to see a student pray a prayer, or experience a "spiritual high" at a camp, but rather to cultivate a faith and a life that will last.

Finally, when I say our ministry is ordinary means of grace-based, I mean that we want to cultivate in our students an appreciation for the ministry of the word, the right participation in the sacraments, and the life of prayer as the normal way God brings about growth in the Christian life. That is, we want to encourage students to see the priority of worship, and, indeed, corporate worship, for Christian living. The ministry wants to see our youth participating fully in the worship, service, fellowship, and witness of the church.

To this end, our Minister of Students and Families will work with the Session and ministry staff of FPC, in leading, organizing, and structuring the Junior High, Senior High, and College Ministries in such a way as to develop our students spiritually in an atmosphere that is challenging, exciting, creative, and inviting. He will give spiritual leadership and oversight to the entire student ministry. Among many other things, he will aim to bring enthusiasm and energy to the various student activities of the church; to see that the youth staff reach out to nonparticipating students and seek to draw them into the life of the youth fellowship; to develop and maintain strong relationships and fellowship with the students of the church, and encourage this among the youth staff; to cultivate team ministry; and to work with parents to encourage healthy patterns of Christian living, and nurturing good Christian family life and parenting practices.
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June 27, 2003
This week’s Pastor’s Perspective affords me the opportunity to express some belated thanks to the dozens and dozens of folks who pulled off yet another great VBS at First Presbyterian earlier this month. As you know, Cynthia Carter was our Director and Sherri Jennings was her Assistant Director. Frances Hilburn led the staff support of VBS, and Marian Ware did her usual wonderful job in writing the Bible lessons. We had eleven department heads, bunches of Bible teachers, music leaders to select, teach, lead and accompany, craft planners, puppeteers, skit soloists, actors and actresses, the outstanding VBS Chorus and Ensemble, numerous table teachers, playground workers, money counters, refreshment servers, wonderful cooks, craft coordinators, leaders, over 100 teen helpers and so many, many more that I can’t even think of right now. A hearty thanks to you all. We had a great week.
    There were many highlights during the week: the 6th grade outreach for the children at the PDS in Belize, the 6th grade newspaper – The Tool Times, pictures taken on the Caterpillar earth moving machine (supplied by Mike Manning of Puckett Machinery), the visit from “The Saw Lady” – Mrs. Mickey Bearden from Raymond who played the saw for us, and sending over $2,700 to the PDS in Belize for their soon-to-be-constructed library.
    I want to emphasize that we could not have VBS without the wonderful kitchen and support staffs. Earl Davis and his men work overtime during VBS week, as do Barbara Pearce and her team. The rooms were set up in a timely manner, and were clean and ready every morning. We are indebted to the behind-the-scenes work of the kitchen and maintenance staffs for their help, support and encouragement, enthusiasm and tolerance.
    On another ministry front, we are delighted to be hosting again the Neighborhood Christian Center’s Summer SuperStars for Christ program. Their first week has been fantastic! One of their new teachers has a degree in sign language and is teaching the children to sign as they sing praises to our gracious heavenly Father each morning during devotion time. Our own Clark Wells is leading the kids’ singing, and the large number of volunteers this year is allowing greater individual attention to those students who are struggling during the academic portion of the program. We are so thankful that these young people and adults are giving their time to work one on one with our inner city students.
    Our church staff has been providing devotions (Bailey Adams, Brister Ware and Rick Holbert, among others, have already spoken). Let’s be in prayer for this program, the students and their leaders. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit would work in the hearts of the children as they hear the Gospel. Also, we want to pray that the Neighborhood Christian Center will receive adequate provision of funding to pay for the costs of this program.
    Our Wednesday night turnout for the Manhood and Womanhood series was phenomenal. We had something like 325 plus in Lowe Hall on June 18 for the first session. Standing Room Only! The children’s program was packed too (we expected 35 and had 80). Even the nursery was up, from 3 the week before to 35. We’re ready for you now, so for those of you who came and couldn’t get a seat, come on back. For those of you who missed the first session, come and see what you missed.
    Dr. John Currid and Dr. David Jussely have preached two outstanding messages these last two Sunday evenings. Still, we are very much looking forward to Derek Thomas’ return and the completion of his study of the Gospel of John. Derek’s due back in the pulpit (from Switzerland!) this Sunday evening. The first Sunday evening in July, Derek will begin his exposition of the Song of Solomon. In combination with our study of Ecclesiastes, this gives us a “Summer with Solomon.” Don’t miss it.
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April 9,2003

There is much to say this week and little space to do justice to it all. Lots of news to catch up on here at First Presbyterian.

    For starters, a number of church families were hit hard by the heavy rains, high winds and flooding that came along with the storm system that moved through Jackson on Sunday. Houses and apartments were flooded. Cars were flooded. Trees blew over on homes. Billy Joseph, Brister Ware and the Deacons sprang into action on Monday helping as many as possible. Please be on the look out for ways to help members who have been impacted by this weather.

In the midst of this present trial for many we have some marvelous news. This past year’s (2002-2003) Faith Promise giving for missions has surpassed $1,000,000. This is the first time in history that our congregation has given that much to missions in a single calendar year through Faith Promise. There have been years when our total giving to missions has been higher, but not all of that funding was channeled through Faith Promise, and so this is a truly historic occasion. For missions giving to be this strong in a sagging economy in the midst of a war is remarkable and we praise God for it.

Furthermore, our Faith Promise commitments for 2003-2004 are creeping towards $910,000. This is well past our goal, but not as high as the $1,000,000 figure we were challenged to match by Phil Ryken and Sandy Willson. Let me challenge you again. 1. If you haven’t handed in a Faith Promise commitment yet, do so now. 2. If you have already made a commitment, work and sacrifice to exceed it. Let’s beat $1,000,000 giving for a second year in a row.

If you were not here last Wednesday evening in the sanctuary for the “The Children’s Catechism” presentation by our combined children’s choirs, you missed out on a blessing. The job done by Ceresa Caudill, our Director, and Mary Ball, our Assistant Director, is just tremendous. Not only did the children sing well the classic hymns and psalms selected for their repertoire, but they recited collectively large chunks of the Children’s Catechism. It’s hard for some of us to even conceive how unique a blessing this is, until we travel outside the bounds of First Jackson and see the unfortunately insubstantial literature being sung by children’s choirs (if the children are singing at all) and the lack of Scripture and Catechism memorization that characterizes so many youth education programs. Thanks to our directors and all the teachers, pianists and assistants who worked so hard to make this happen.

Derek Thomas is just back from the Banner of Truth conferences in Leicester, England. Derek’s preached on three continents in the span of three weeks! I’ve already heard reports of how well he was received, but he was particularly strong this past Sunday night – tired as he must have been from his travels. By the way, his book on Job, Mining for Wisdom (Evangelical Press) is available now. Pick up a copy in the bookstore. His new book Let’s Study Revelation (Banner of Truth) is also in print. I don’t know of any RTS professor who has been more prolific in writing and publishing over the last few years as Derek. His output is prodigious, and boy are we thankful he’s ours.

And speaking of Derek, did you know that you can listen to First Presbyterian sermons “online”? Would you like to hear last Sunday’s message again or share it with a friend? Well, you can. It is possible to listen to and even download from the internet many of the sermons preached in this church. Go to http://resources.christianity.com/fpcjackson/ or just click on the Life Audio link from the library page of the church's web site. If you have any difficulty please email Jonathan Stuckert at jstuckert@fpcjackson.org
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March 25, 2003
America is now at war, and as the first shots were being fired, First Presbyterian Church was at prayer. It was one of the best seasons of intercession that I can remember at First Presbyterian, and Ruling Elder Edmund Johnston told me that it was the longest season of prayer he could recall since the Easter Flood of 1979. It was profoundly affecting to hear the earnest prayers of God’s people, young and old, seeking his face.

One young man, a university student who was home with us, wrote me immediately thereafter and said: "I just wanted to share with you how encouraging tonight’s prayer meeting was. I found myself in what is, unfortunately, too often an unfamiliar state — that of delighting in the prayers of God’s people. Although I’m not entirely sure why, I was amazed and deeply moved as person after person stood to pour out their hearts. As a college student, the prayers of our older members seemed especially poignant. It was strangely peaceful to hear a congregation expressing its dependence, not on a mighty military force, but on an Almighty God. With all the talk lately of ‘our great nation,’ it was more than refreshing to be reminded of ‘our Greater God.’ I was deeply struck by [one of our missionaries] Howard Shelden’s statement printed in the bulletin: ‘Wherever God calls us to is the safest place to be at that particular moment, whether it is to die . . . or to live.’

When I got home, it struck me that just over a dozen years ago the first Gulf War had begun on a Wednesday night. I had friends fighting in that conflict, and I have friends in harm’s way this time, too. Yesterday afternoon, seeing pictures of young wives and children saying goodbye to their husbands and daddies, not knowing whether they would see them again, brought this thing home to me again, perhaps as powerfully as anything since September 11, 2001.

A few in our nation, and more around the world have questioned the morality of this war. Indeed, the Roman Pontiff has taken it upon himself to advise that no military action is just that is not approved by the U.N. I, for one, disagree. The Bible says that God established government and that it "does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil" (Romans 13:4). This is precisely what our President, Armed Forces, and Allies are attempting to do.

I think Derek Thomas’ comments were very helpful on this: "My own personal point of view (as a British citizen living in the United States) is that we are to pray for our enemies, and Saddam Hussein is just that: an enemy and a tyrant of Hitlerian and Stalinesque proportions. He is a threat to every nation on earth, Islamic, as well as Christian. Because the use of terrorism is so utterly unpredictable, I personally support the taking of pre-emptive action to try and prevent it when the threat of it appears credible. Having lived in Northern Ireland for twenty years, I came to that conclusion a long time ago despite what was often a hostile American reaction to this viewpoint. I, therefore, support this war. Pacifism at this juncture is muddle-headed and worse: it provokes an enemy to take risks and will in the long run cost us more. But that does not prevent me from praying for this man’s salvation, or the salvation of members of his army. In a recent service at First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, I did just that. It was instinctive rather than planned. But I felt it was the right thing to do at that time. After all, the work of the Holy Spirit is going to do far more good in the long run than anything a bullet can do. But now that war has begun, the perspective changes a little. Because I believe our cause is just, I want righteousness to prevail and evil to be defeated. That means that when it comes down to it, I want our troops (British and American) to survive rather than Saddam’s. I will pray that the loss of life be minimal, that the execution of the war be honorable, and will thank God for victory—even when that victory is pronounced on the graves of men and women. War is horrible. It is the most horrible thing there is. But it is sometimes necessary. And now is such a time."

Let us pray for a real and lasting peace, which in this case, necessitates war.

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February 25, 2003
    I ran across this excerpt from Cotton Mather’s A Father’s Resolutions and was immediately convicted and edified. I share it with you all, especially the fathers of the congregation, to spur you on in love and good deeds towards your children, and to motivate you in your concern for their spiritual well-being. Mather resolved: