What's All This 'Gospel-Centered' Talk About? - Dane Ortland

The Gospel is not only the gateway into the Christian life, but the pathway of the Christian life.

"Gospel-centered preaching." "Gospel-centered parenting." "Gospel-centered discipleship." The back of my business card says "gospel-centered publishing." This descriptive mantra is tagged on to just about anything and everything in the Christian world these days.

What's it all about?

Before articulating what it might mean to be Gospel-centered, we all better be on the same page as to what the Gospel actually is.

I don't mean Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

What I mean by "Gospel" in this article is the outrageous news of what has been done for us by God in Jesus. The Gospel is the front page of the newspaper, not the back-page advice column; news of what has happened, not advice on how to live.

Specifically, the Gospel is the startling news that what God demands from us, He provides for us. How? In His own Son. The Gospel is the message that Jesus Christ delights to switch places with guilty rebels. The one Person who walked this earth who deserved heaven endured the wrath of hell so that those who deserve the wrath of hell can have heaven for free.

To read more click HERE.

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Dane Ortlund is senior vice president for Bible publishing at Crossway and serves as managing editor of the Gospel Transformation Bible.

The Archaic Concept of Life Revolving Around the Church - James A.E. MacLellan

Walking around a new town and listening to new people inspired a motivation in me when I became a wet-behind-the-ears, never-before- pastor in this very established western town.  I had this ambition: move the Church into the community.  I heard phrases like, "That Church up there"; and "Those people." It was very important to seed the organic Church into the life of this town.   In large part this has worked well -- in fact very well.

Two and a half decades later I face another challenge.  I'm probably not alone in this -- in fact I know I'm not but the issue is mine as much as the first one was.  In the olympian endeavor to regularly gather the people of God on Sundays so often I find on the winners podium competitors such as family; such as sports and entertainment; and such as jobs.  Today's problem is not so much about getting the Church into the community, but to get the saints into the Church.

When you wander around western Canada, especially in heart-throbbing beauty of Alberta there is a consistent picture in almost every small town. Right smack dap in the middle of that cloister of elevators, Coops, Chinese restaurants and the like is a recognizable building -- a church.  The name on the sign is not so important here, but what it stands for.  To construct a church in the middle of a community is sending a message: Everything revolves around the Church!

When God established the Israelite community He made church the encampment surrounded the Church -- the meeting place of God -- the Tabernacle. Numbers, chapter 2 describes this arrangement.

Today, there is a proliferation of families whose lives revolve around the family.   Family life might be the greatest form of idolatry in the Church today.  In fact I've experienced the kind of explanation that forces me to assume that it is totally acceptable to absent oneself from meeting with God's people as long as your chosen activity is family!  Of course where family seems to be the new fair alternative, work and sports come a close second (but usually these choices still are argued in support of the family.)

Now we all know the push-backs:  Going to church doesn't save you.  You can be a Christian and miss church.  It's just a church; I can worship God at the lake.  But what are we going to do with Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)?

²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

How are we going to skate around this one?  I think with great admiration when I recall how my parents handled the Lord's Day.  I used to think they were Sabbatarian extremists terrorizing the only day I had free to do as I wanted.  Today I rejoice in God's grace that He brought me into a family that thought such archaic things like: A. It's normal for a Christian family to go to Church, twice on Sunday and a few times through the week; B. It's normal for a Christian family to utilize Saturday night to prepare clothes, food and whatever else so that we are ready for Church; C. It's normal for a Christian family to seek out a congregation of God's people to worship with while on holiday; and D. It's normal for a Christian family to expect friends and family to understand their Church priorities.

The beautiful synergism of the early Church was that they considered meeting together with other believers central to their daily activities; and this fueled their zeal that drove them "outside of the camp."   The joy was “... the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47, NIV).  

Jim

Let’s Live for the Moment - Dr. David Murray

Live for the moment!”

Sounds like a modern hedonist, doesn’t it?

Or maybe like an ancient Epicurean: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

Or perhaps even like a yogi (what do you call someone who does Yoga?).

A few months ago, I was reading 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works. In it, TV journalist Dan Harris (of Good Morning America fame) describes his sincere but often bizarre search for happiness that took him to many weird and wonderful people, places, and practices until he settled on a pretty extreme form of yoga-related meditation which made him, O, about 10% happier.

At the end of it you think, “Wow, all that effort for just 10% happier!” Yet, Harris still thinks it was worth it, especially learning the ability to live in the moment and for the moment. The idea, often called mindfulness, is to get to a state of mind that does not think backwards or forwards, that doesn’t remember the past or anticipate the future. Instead the mind is perfectly balanced in the here and now, and is achieved by emptying the mind of everything. If you think that’s easy, read the book, or, better, try it yourself. As Harris describes it, it’s like cage-fighting with a fish:

It was a rigorous brain exercise: rep after rep of trying to tame the runaway train of the mind. The repeated attempt to bring the compulsive thought machine to heel was like holding a live fish in your hands. Wrestling your mind to the ground, repeatedly hauling your attention back to the breath in the face of the inner onslaught required genuine grit.

Funny and Sad
While it’s both sad and funny to read about Harris’s harrowing and humorous journey to this all-too-brief cathartic experience, there’s something about this desire to live in the moment that is healthy, desirable, and all-too-absent from most Christians’ spiritual lives.

I know, I know, as Christians we don’t believe in peace through weird techniques aimed at emptying the mind of everything. We believe in peace through the filling of the mind with God’s truth and the filling of the soul with the Holy Spirit.

But, but, but…this book reveals a real human need, a God-given instinct that senses the value of inner and outer quiet as a means of knowing oneself and God.

Yes, the yogis go about it the wrong way, in a harmful and merely temporary way. But many of us would be in a much happier and healthier spiritual (and physical) state if we were better able to live in the moment in a Christian way. Like the yogis, Christians need to tame the voice in our head and learn to get in the Now.

Thought-ExperimentIf you don’t think you need this, do this experiment: at various points in the day try to slow your mind down, to quieten your inner voice, and live in the moment:

To read more click HERE!

Ministry Opportunities - Elk Point Baptist Church

1. Song projection on Sundays.   We use a presentation software called EasyWorship.  In this program all the songs for the worship service and other things like announcements can be slotted in order and then projected through our data projector.   We are in need of an operator.   If it is the Lord's will, Courtney will be heading off to Bible School in September.  She is willing to train a couple people to serve in this way.  A few computer skills would be an asset but the most important need is someone who will be faithful, diligent to the task and be willing to arrive early on Sundays to set everything up.  If you have further questions please call me.  If you wish to volunteer please reply to this email or phone me.  Your prayerful consideration is appreciated.

2. Transportation help.   As some of you know I have been helping Gerry Dubeau get to Church on Sunday.   In view of the summer and the possibility that I will be away, I would like to be able to call on several people to assist in giving Gerry a ride to church if need be.  Gerry is quite mobile and independent.  He lives at Parkview Extended Care.  He is always ready and prompt.  He does have his own cell phone if you would need to contact him.  If you can minister to Gerry in this way, we would appreciate it.  Please reply or call if you can help.  Thanks.

Jim
James A.E. MacLellan
(780) 724-4194 (office)
(780) 614-9305 (cell)

Comfort for Christian Parents of Unconverted Children - Jim Elliff

All Christian parents wish that God would show us something to do to secure our child’s salvation, and then “we’ll do it with all our might” because we love our child so much. Yet, God has not made salvation the effect of somebody else’s faith; our son or daughter must come to Christ on his or her own. John shows us that all Christians are born into God’s family “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, [that is, somebody else's will] but of God.” (John 1:13)

Although salvation is the work of God and not something that we can do for our child, there is hope. Consider the following:

1. A true burden in prayer for your child is a gift from God. A persistent burden may indicate that God intends to give your child eternal life because authentic prayer always begins with God. Though we cannot be absolutely certain that we know all that God is doing, we should be optimistic if the burden continues.

2. The miracle of the new birth is no less possible for God ...... TO READ MORE CLICK HERE.

Highway To Holiness - James A.E. MacLellan

A key verse in the Christian's pursuit of sanctification (holiness) is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18. This topic is critical because if you are a Christian, this is where we live and breathe.  We are all at some point in the process of sanctification.  You cannot be a Christian and find that this is not true in your life (“for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13, ESV)). Sanctification is a free and sovereign work of God. He is active.  We are passive.

But because God is sovereign in no way insinuates that we are inactive.  Inactive and passive are two different things.  The sovereignty of God demands that He determines the end result and the means to that end result.  We must choose to embrace those means to our holiness.  But how we use those means is critical to achieving the desired results.  This is what we see in 2 Corinthians 3:

¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Christ leads us to holiness through the goal of beholding Him in the means of grace as empowered by the Holy Spirit working in us.

So the important question then is how do I use the means (Scripture, prayer, fellowship, etc.) in a way that "beholds" Him?  And what does that mean?  The word behold (in the ESV) or "contemplate"(in the NIV) is the Greek word: κατοπτρίζω.  "The word translated “beholding” (Gk. katoptrizō) can mean “behold” or “reflect” or “look at in a mirror,” and commentators support all three views. In this context, however, the connection with a mirror does not seem to be necessary to the word, and the meaning “behold” seems more consistent with the idea of having the veil removed and therefore being able to see God’s glory, in contrast to the unbelieving Jews who still have a veil blocking their vision (see note on vv. 14–15)." [1]

Someone writes: "I love the way Allan Redpath words a clear explanation of this glory the apostle Paul is trying to communicate to believers:

"I have a clear view of Jesus. I have seen Him, felt Him, and I have known Him in a far deeper way than simply by the outward physical appearance; I have felt the reality of His life begin to burn in my heart. I have seen in Christ the glory of a life that is totally submitted to the sovereignty of God. That glory has begun to take hold of me, and I have begun to see that this is the one life that God expects of any man He made in His own image. I have seen the marks of the cross upon Him, and by His grace the marks of the cross have been put upon me and I am no longer my own; I am bought with a price, redeemed by His precious blood. Yes, I have seen Him--not in the outward physical sense only, but in the inward sense of a deep spiritual reality. I have had a clear view of Jesus and my life will never be the same again" (Blessings Out of Buffetings, p. 44)." [2]

This is the highway to holiness. “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (Isaiah 35:8–10, NIV)