Posted by Pastor Pat on October 10, 2010
Read Ephesians 4:1-6
Whatever Paul brings to the table in 4:1 and following is a consequence of his previous thought. Paul begins in verse 4:1 by imploring his audience “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which they have been called.” Somehow we have twisted the thought of walking worthy to mean something that is meritorious and thus resulting in our acceptance before the Father. Yet everything up to this point clearly points out how our acceptance before and access to the Father is firmly rooted in and flowing from our in Christ status (1:5; 2:18; 3:12).
“He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:5).
“For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:18).
“In whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Eph. 3:12).
The thought of worthy is something that is compatible with or suitable to. Paul’s simple thought is that our lives should mimic our spiritual union with Christ. Whatever we are in Christ we should be while in the world. It is His life flowing into us and thus flowing out of us. Although it might be anti-climatic, let us not forget that the “us” of Ephesians is the “we” of the church and not the “us” of isolated independent individualism.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on March 15, 2010
Read Ephesians 2:1-10
Paul continues to show the immeasurable nature of God’s redeeming grace by noting the context in which it took place. It is as if he provides the reader with a snapshot or summary of the whole story from beginning to end. It is because we were dead in our trespasses that God would have to forgive us by means of redeeming us from sin’s debt (1:7). Verses 2 and 3 describe the state of what all once were prior to their adoption as sons and daughters (1:5).
Verses 1 through 3 do not distinguish between male or female, Jew or Gentile, bond or free. All are in the same dead state brought on by trespass and sin. Paul highlights the enemies of grace: the world, the devil, and the flesh. All three work to overthrow and undercut the provision of God for the inability of man. Verse 4 acts as a sharp contrast to the initial three verses. It functions as an explosion of hope. In contrast to all that we are, here stands God who is rich in mercy and great in love. He does not allow us to continue as we were but sets us on a path of life and light. Because of who God is in essence, all His actions are inseparably linked to and flowing from this abundant resource.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on April 19, 2009
“Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” John 20:17
Often in reading the Scripture, we skim past great oceans of truth and thus fail to appreciate the height, depth, width, and breadth of what we just read. I believe John 20:17 is one of those untapped “oceans.”
In the words of our Lord, something powerful happened because of the cross. The alienated become brethren, the orphaned become adopted and the wayward become worshippers. Jesus uses an Old Testament formula to speak of the relationship His people have to their God, “My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12 ['I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people']; Jer. 7:23; 30:22; Ezek. 36:28). “His words are reminiscent of Ruth’s words to Naomi: ‘your people shall be my people and your God my God’ (Ruth 1:16)” (F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, p.391). The language is that of the covenant made with Israel and promised to Israel. Let us not miss the slight alteration in our Lord’s expansion of this idea. Jesus identifies Himself with His people. Jesus includes us in His family. Let us for a moment recall the statement of our Lord in John 15:14-15.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on April 12, 2009
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)
Why should I assemble with the saints of God on a weekly basis? What place or importance is Sunday morning worship to have in my life? Why should I attend weekly gatherings outside of Sunday morning? What contributions do such activities make in my Christian walk?
Often weekly church attendance can have a place of importance until something else comes up. Most of the time we are regular in our attendance, but sometimes other “things” crowd out our weekly attendance. Things like camping trips, fishing trips, family gatherings, or simple laziness can excuse us from attending. What place are “religious” activities to have in the Christian life and why should we attend to these things?
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Posted by Pastor Pat on April 1, 2009
“No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins,
and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
Read Mark 2:18-22
As a pastor of a long standing fellowship (50 plus years), I find this thought, “New Wine in Old Wineskins,” a persistent tension in today’s church. In failing to differentiate between the message of the gospel and the manner in which it is celebrated, we have generational divide and church families that are only one age and thus one dimensional. This is not the Church Jesus builds. Churches are to be generationally diverse and, if community dictates, ethnically varied. No one would ever think of having a church of only men or only women or only children. This would be unwise and foolish.
Any church that targets, and or has, only one thing will become stagnant and predictable. Such a church is either dying or dead. How can we keep a generationally diverse fellowship and still celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ? It has been a grievous thing to see the young and the old leave the church because of change or non-change. Either the change is too fast or the church is not changing fast enough. Either way everyone loses. The gospel is not changing, but the manner in which it is celebrated must change and that change might happen every twenty years.
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 29, 2009
Read Mark 2:13-17
This is the rub. How can we be “in the world” but not “of the world” (John 17)? What are we protecting? We must protect the purity of the gospel without isolating it from the purpose of the gospel.
How have we come to this point in our lives where “church” is identified by a structure or building and not the living body that meets in the building? How have we come to the point where contact with the unbelieving or association with the non-churched is something to be avoided? Why are we so guarded about what people might think of us? When we are more concerned about our “image” rather than our “audience,” we have become Pharisees. How we understand the idea of “being in the world” and not “of the world” will shape our purpose as a church.
Sunday morning services are “for the people of God whereby we gather to worship Him.” But from our worship comes life and in the context of living, we demonstrate and declare the gospel to everyone, everywhere, at all times. Going where the sinner lives, does not make you a sinner. Our Lord’s appeal is to be who you are where you live.
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Filed Under: Mark
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 27, 2009
Read Mark 1:40-45
As I work through Mark’s Gospel and the life of Jesus Christ, I have been challenged to become more aggressive in emphasizing the role of the local church in mercy ministries. It appears unfortunate but we fail to hold in tension evangelism of soul and ministries of “healing.” We must become the cup of cold water to the thirsty, we must become fathers to the fatherless, and we must become a shelter to the homeless. How do we come alongside those who are buckling under the weight of life? To have the mind of Christ without His hands or feet is restrictive and one dimensional. We must maintain the gospel, we must engage our culture, and we must build His church. None of these three items are capable of being neglected.
Our involvement in our community should be a real ministry expression of this local community. Our community is already trying to address these issues, but all attempts on their part are one dimensional. We must not deceive ourselves. It is only Christ and His church that can address the souls of these individuals. The church fails when it focuses on only one area and not both. It is never either or. It is always both the soul and the body. William Barclay notes how there are three pairs of things which Jesus never separated and we would do well to consider his observations.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on March 3, 2009
(Advent, Lent, Pentecost)
Why Does Waukesha Bible Church
Mark Certain “Religious” Holidays?
Or
How We Participate in the Global Community and Conversation
Without Losing Our Theological Distinctiveness
As lead pastor and co-elder, I am sensitive to the unique personality we have as a local church. I am also aware of our part inside the global body of Christ. Neither one can be denied without doing great harm. I was raised religiously as a Roman Catholic. I left the Roman Catholic Church and became an Independent Baptist. Apart from the “New Birth,” my movement from Roman Catholicism into becoming an Independent Baptist was not intentional. It simply existed, and it was where I ended up. Although the move was providential and not necessarily intended by me, looking back I believe it was necessary and important that I break with the Roman Catholic Church. After I left Catholicism, I began attending a Bible College. My religious training took me further into a subset of Christianity called, “Fundamentalism.” The brand of Fundamentalism I engaged in practiced an idea called “secondary separation.” Inside of this context, I opposed all forms of doctrine that did not line up with my (“our”) system of thought. This ideology produced a separation and isolation from the larger expressions of professing Christianity.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on March 1, 2009
What is the role of the Christian, the local church, and the pastor as it relates to issues of morality, legislation and the government? Do we have a role? Do we have a voice? Is there a responsibility laid on us by God toward those who would perpetuate evil?
Before our nationalism and patriotism “lurches forward,” Christians have a first and primary responsibility to God. When Peter found himself questioned by the local government authorities and was pressured to end his activity, he responded with, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
As United States citizens we have marked such events as “Roe versus Wade,” “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,” “President’s Day,” “Holocaust Remembrance Day,” “Earth Day, Labor Day,” “National Day of Prayer,” “Memorial Day,” “Flay Day,” “Independence Day,” “Labor Day,” and “Thanksgiving,” to name just a few. All of these “holidays” touch critical issues such as the sanctity of life, racism, equality, slavery, government, just war, environmentalism, patriotism, civil disobedience, work, and welfare.
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