How good is “good enough”? What is God like? Who is Jesus and what has he done? These are some of the BIG questions of life and eternity that Exploring Christianity posed to 25 guests and then sought to answer over a five week period as roughly 20 hosts and discussion leaders shared a meal and interacted together.

From the first meeting (The EC Preview Dinner on April 12), it was evident that God was at work. Sitting around tables in our church foyer, getting to know one another were men and women of diverse backgrounds from throughout the Fox Valley region. Some came with honest questions about Christianity seeking solid answers. Others would not describe themselves as Christians but came willing to listen to the claims of Christ. Still others came as followers of Christ who wanted a refresher course on the basic truths of the gospel. All came because a friend or family member who is part of the New Covenant body invited them.

As the EC course continued from week to week, the conversations around the tables deepened and became more open. Guests began to ask questions: Why should I trust the Bible? Where did evil come from? Why do bad things happen to good people? Discussion leaders patiently listened and pointed to God’s Word for answers. The result has been seeing God growing the faith of many and drawing others savingly into His Kingdom. Here is how some of those who attended EC described their experience:

“I enjoyed having my questions answered and knowing that I am not alone.”

“Because of EC I have started to read the Gospel of John in the Bible.”

“Before EC I wanted to believe. Now I am a believer...I have a love for God in my heart and my whole attitude has changed.”

“[Because of EC] my mind has been opened to additional possibilities concerning my relationship with God.”

“Before EC I was struggling with hope. Now I have hope for change.”

In addition to seeing God at work in the lives of those who are coming to faith in Jesus Christ, it was awesome to see the truth of 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 on display through the New Covenant family.

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9 ESV)

Everyone who served in order to make EC happen played an important role -- some were “planters,” some were “waterers” -- but it was God by His Holy Spirit who worked in the lives of those being changed (i.e. “gave the growth”). Frank Chihowski, Bob Gartner, Tim and Verlene Holloway, Rich and Emilee Justice, Nathan and Patsy Martin, Sue Bixby (signing for the deaf), and Horst Fiebig served as table hosts and discussion leaders. While Pastor Sunday and I had the joy of giving a message each week, these leaders were responsible for interacting with their table guests, answering difficult questions, and providing biblical answers. According to Rich Justice, “The table conversations were engaging with good participation. I was amazed at some of the accurate responses on spiritual questions from those with limited biblical understanding. One member went out and began sharing what he had learned with friends desiring to invite them to future classes.”

One of the goals of EC is to demonstrate the love of Christ to those who attend so that the truth of the gospel proclaimed at EC is coupled with tangible expressions of love from those who have been transformed by the gospel of God’s grace. One of the ways this message was clearly communicated was through a delicious meal served to all who attended. Rhonda Brase coordinated a posse of volunteers who not only prepared and provided a full meal each week but also stayed to serve the meal and cleaned up the mess. A second crucial expression of our love was providing childcare for guests with young children. Several EC attenders stated that they would not have been able to attend without the service that Judy Pallock and her team of adult and teen volunteers provided for their kids. Still others, like Gail Hanczar and Ryan Larson, helped with set up and take down.

What a joy it was as one of your pastors to see many different members of Christ’s body at New Covenant working together to glorify God through this gospel outreach! Please continue to pray for those who attended EC. Many of them have requested ongoing discipleship and will be continuing in discipleship groups. Also, please consider how you might serve when we offer Exploring Christianity again in the fall (Lord willing).

Planting and watering gospel seeds with you,

Dave DeHaan

Thanks to the encouragement of some friends, I enjoyed running a marathon last weekend. I know … for some of you, just seeing those two words together—enjoyed and running—makes you wonder if I’m certifiably crazy. But for me, the challenge of finishing a long race became an exercise in endurance. And that’s what the Christian life is: as Eugene Peterson memorably described it, following Jesus is “a long obedience in the same direction.” Life is a marathon.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
—Hebrews 12:1-2

For me, the hardest part of the race was neither the start nor the finish. At the start, I was nervous, but energetic. I had to remember to pace myself lest I exhaust all my energy before the race was half-over. And toward the end of the race, in the final few miles, I felt a fresh surge of energy as the finish line drew nearer.

It was the middle of the race that was the hardest—especially around miles 17, 18, 19, and 20. It was then that I was wondering if I could make it to the end. It was then that I had to work the hardest at keeping my mind focused on the goal. I had to pay attention to my form. I had to resist the urge to give up. I had need of endurance.

Running has become for me a meaningful metaphor of my life in Christ. I want to be a Christian who keeps running the race all the way to the finish line. I don’t want to lose my focus on Jesus, or get sidetracked by sin, or quit running because of discouragement. I want to press on. I yearn to finish well—to be found faithful.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised.
—Hebrews 10:35-36

Most of us today are neither at the beginning nor at the end of the Christian race. We’re in the middle. I am reminded of the stirring piece from the preaching of the late Vance Havner called “The Middle Mile.” May this excerpt encourage you today as you patiently press-on in the marathon of life:

To most of us, the most important parts of a journey are the start and finish. But the part of a trip that really tests the traveler is neither the beginning nor the end but the middle mile.

Anybody can be enthusiastic at the start. The long road invites you, you are fresh and ready to go. It is easy to sing then.

And it is easy to be exuberant at the finish. You may be footsore and weary but you have arrived, the goal is reached, the crown is won. It is not difficult to be happy then.

But on the dreary middle mile when the glory of the start has died away and you are too far from the goal to be inspired by it—on the tedious middle mile when life settles down to a regular routine and monotony—there is the stretch that tires out the traveler. If you can sing along the middle mile, you've learned one of life's most difficult lessons...

This grace of the middle mile the Bible calls "patient continuance." It is a wonderful art that few have mastered. It proves, as nothing else can, that character. And it gets least attention from the world because there is nothing very dramatic about it. There is something theatric in a big start or a glorious finish. There is nothing for a news reporter along the middle mile. It is a lonesome mile, for the crowd is whooping'er up for the fellow who got through. It's a hard mile, for it's too far to go back and a long way to go on. But if you can keep a song within and a smile without on this dreariest stretch of life, if you can leam to transform it into a paradise of its own, you have mastered the greatest secret of victorious living, the problem of the middle mile. —Vance Havner, “The Middle Mile.”

Running with you, with eyes fixed on Jesus,

Pastor David Sunday

How then should we worship God? I believe Revelation can help us answer this question. It’s filled with worship, and it is worship God accepts. So Revelation can serve as a pattern or model for our worship. Barry Liesch says,

“Although the Book of Revelation has been studied avidly as a book of prophecy, what it says about worship has been widely neglected. Yet at least fourteen of the twenty-two chapters deal with worship. Worship is depicted as going on unceasingly before the throne. It is not an ‘interlude’ between a sequence of dramatic scenes, as some have termed it.”

Approaching Revelation from the above perspective makes several matters clear. First, worship explains life and calls us to focus on the central issues of life. Notice how the worship in chapters 4 & 5 explains John’s vision. For example, in 4:1-8a there isn’t an explanation of who is seated on the throne. The worship of those around the throne (4:8,11) clearly states who the occupant of the throne is and why he is to be worshiped. Verses 9-14 of chapter 5 serve the same function. They explain who the Lamb is and why he is to be worshiped. This is a characteristic of the worship recorded in Revelation (7:9-17, 11:15-19, 15:1-4, 16:4-7, 19:1-8).

Worship calls to us. It cries, “Look here! Focus your attention and concern here. Here is reality. Here are the things that really matter. Don’t waste your life on trivial matters.”

We need to have our focus adjusted on a regular basis. Robert Webber said,

“When we worship, the conflict between good and evil which we experience in our everyday lives is confronted and resolved. We leave worship once again with the personal assurance that the battle is won – Satan has been, is now being, and will be defeated. Because we are confident in Christ’s victory, we experience a great release from the burden of our sin and we become filled with joy and peace.”

Second, our worship is to be both God-centered and Christ-centered. The subject matter and theme of Christian worship is all that God is for us in and through Christ. Christian worship focuses on and explains who the Lord God Almighty is and what he has done. It also fixes our attention on the person and work of the Lamb. Richard Bauckham stresses,

“It is important to notice how the scene is so structured that the worship of the Lamb (5:8-12) leads to the worship of God and the Lamb together (5:13). John does not wish to represent Jesus as an alternative object of worship alongside God, but as one who shares in the glory due God. He is worthy of divine worship because his worship can be included in the worship of the one God.”

So worship is not about us. It’s about God the Father and God the Son. It is a celebration of and rejoicing in God and the Lamb. The content of our worship should reflect these truths by calling us to be attentive to God and Christ. Here is the real or central battle of life: Who will we worship? Christians in every age fight this same battle.

Third, at its heart worship is expressing our love for God to God. Love that is not expressed is not truly love. Worship is not limited to confession and song, but it should include them. What we say or profess in worship is very important. For our confession is our response to the Lord God Almighty and to the Lamb. It is the verbal expression of our inner conviction regarding the worth and value of God and the Lamb. It can be as simple as Psalm 18:1, “I love you, O LORD, my strength.” It can be as full and rich as Psalm 116. The length is not important. The key is seeing that true worship expresses itself by responding to the person and work of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.

Lastly, worship needs to be corporate. Yes, individual worship has its place, but what I am saying is that as individuals we need to worship with other believers. Why do we need such a reminder? Because he’s not merely my God “he is our God.” Furthermore, we are his people. I am not an isolated individual worshipping God by myself. I am part of the people of God. When we worship together, this truth is driven home to me with force.

The corporate element of worship can also be seen in Revelation 4 and 5. In 4:8 we see the four living creatures worshipping God. The worship in 4:11 and 5:9-10 includes the four living creatures and the elders. The worship in 5:11-12 includes “many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.” The worship builds to the climax of 5:13, “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing.” This common or corporate act of worship reminds me that God’s plan is bigger than me. As we worship together and recount the acts of God we see that God’s plan is bigger than one congregation. God’s plan includes all creation and in corporate worship we celebrate and remind ourselves of this truth.

Praying that our worship together will strengthen us in Christ,

Elder Jim Gordon

I’m thinking back to a message Andy Euler, a present member of New Covenant, preached back in January 2005. The text was that magnificent doxology of the God-enamored apostle, Paul:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.
—Ephesians 3:20-21

In his sermon, Andy encouraged us to pray, “Lord, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.”

I wrote it in my Bible, and I’ve been riveted by that text and that idea ever since.

We’ve been together for two years now, a mile-marker we will celebrate with our Anniversary Luncheon on May 6. As I think about how far God has brought us, I rejoice! Truly “the LORD has done great things for us; we are glad” (Psalm 126:3).

This spring season has been especially full of hope with the launching of Exploring Christianity. Each week there are people in our midst who are encountering the beauty and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is transforming all our lives through this glorious gospel. Just this past Friday, following the Men’s Bible Study at Big Apple Bagel, a husband and wife stopped at the table of a couple of New Covenant men and asked, “Is that the Good Book you’re reading?” What an open door for gospel communication! Pray for that couple, and for many others who are hearing the gospel in new and fresh ways through the ministry of the people of our church. To God alone be all the glory!

Where do we go from here? I’d like to encourage all of us to start meditating on Ephesians 3:20-21 and asking God to let us make a difference for him that is utterly disproportionate to who we are.

What might that mean for you personally? Where is God challenging your faith? And what might that mean for our church? What are one or two things you would love to see God do at New Covenant in the next year? Over the next five years? Can you dream of a work of God here that is utterly disproportionate to who we are? Can you begin to envision, and to pray for such a movement of God’s Spirit in our midst that the only possible explanation anyone could make is, “God is really among you”? (1 Cor. 14:25).
It all begins with a conscious, explicit reliance on the Holy Spirit. And we express our desperate dependence on the Lord through corporate prayer. Please join us this coming Wednesday night, May 2, for an evening of prayer from 5:30—7:45.

“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).

Expecting great things from God as we attempt great things for God,

David Sunday

On the list of best-known verses in Proverbs, surely these are near the top:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
—Proverbs 3:5-6

Many people are willing to give God a try; but few people are willing to give God their trust.

We like to approach God the way I approach entering into Lake Michigan—I stick my toes in to see how it feels before I’ll commit to diving in.

Don’t we often treat God the same? “If I start to feel better—if my marriage starts to improve—if my financial situation changes—then I’ll give God my trust.” In essence, we’re saying “I’ll worship you, God, if you prove to me you’re worth it.”

Trusting God contains no ifs. This golden nugget from Proverbs urges us to trust him entirely, exclusively, and exhaustively. And it also searches our hearts and exposes three reasons so many people are willing to give God a try, but will not give him their trust.

We Have Divided Hearts

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart.” In order for that to take place, we need God to do open heart surgery on us. We don’t want to give God our whole heart. We want to save some room for other affections and other ambitions. But Jesus told us we cannot serve two masters. Only God is unfailingly faithful, and only God deserves our wholehearted trust. To trust in him is to rely on him completely—as the hymn says,

Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on thee;
leave, ah! leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me!
All my trust on thee is stayed,
all my help from thee I bring;
cover my defenseless head
with the shadow of thy wing.

So let us pray, “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name” (Psalm 86:11).

We Think We Know Better

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” This is hard for us, isn’t it? We like to understand things. We like to get to the bottom of a matter. And it’s not wrong for us to be guided by our understanding—but it is wrong to rely on our own understanding.

Trusting God requires us to worship him and to rest on him even when things don’t make sense. Are you willing to worship him and love him and trust him in any circumstance, even when you don’t understand what he is doing in your life?

When John Newton was watching cancer slowly ravage the life of his beloved wife, he wrote in his journal, “I believe it was about two or three months before her death, when I was walking up and down in the room offering disjointed prayers from a heart torn with distress, that a thought suddenly struck me with unusual force, to this effect— ‘The promises of God must be true; surely the Lord will help me, if I am willing to be helped!’ It occurred to me, that we are often led … from an undue regard of our feelings, to indulge that unprofitable grief which both our duty and our peace require us to resist to the utmost of our power. I instantly said aloud, ‘Lord, I am helpless indeed, in myself, but I hope I am willing, without reserve, that thou shouldest help me.’” Newton testified how from that point on, when he ceased leaning on his own understanding and cast himself completely on the help of the Lord, he was supernaturally enabled to fulfill his duties with great peace throughout the heartbreaking ordeal.

We Think We Can Handle Some Things Without Him

“... In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Sometimes it’s easier for us to trust God in the great crises, but to think we can work out the “minor things” ourselves. Is there any area of your life that you think you can handle without God?

To acknowledge him is to know him personally, to be aware of him, to be mindful of him, and to cultivate fellowship with Him. And he wants us to have that kind of relationship with him in all our ways. God cares about the little details of our lives just as much as he cares about the big problems. He wants us to rely on him in all the normal, mundane responsibilities just as much as we do for the great challenges.

Bruce Waltke translates the verse insightfully: “In all your ways desire his presence, and he will make your paths straight and smooth.”

Only Jesus

Only Jesus has completely put this proverb to the test. He trusted God entirely, exclusively, and exhaustively, and that trust led our Savior all the way to the Cross—but it also brought him forth from the grave in resurrection victory! Trusting God like Jesus did will involve a cross and trials, but take heart: He will make your paths straight and smooth.

Follow Jesus: Believe this proverb and give God your wholehearted trust. For as someone has said, “Proverbs 3:5-6 is not untrue, but it’s often untested.”

Oh for grace to trust him more!

Pastor David Sunday

My aim in this article is to show that all too often we make the same mistake with the work of Christ. Our view of Christ’s work on Calvary is translated all too often into what becomes in practice our own personal Jesus. His death is about me and my family and friends and our personal relationship with Christ. It may branch out to the world and people in the world, but it is always about the world of human beings. Little, if anything, is ever said about the created order (the cosmos or creation), the realm of evil angelic powers, or the realm of impersonal forces of death and evil.

There is a view of the work of Christ that aims to address these issues. It is called Christus Victor. Here Christ is seen as both the Savior and as the victorious heavenly champion. Robert Webber summarized Christus Victor as follows, “In this view…Christ not only died to satisfy the requirements of justice but…he (also) gained a victory over the powers of evil that raged in his world. His work on the cross, which extends to all of life, is the downfall of the powers of evil. The havoc they have wrought in the created order cannot and will not prevail, for His victory over them is the promise of the ultimate restoration of His creation.”

Note how Paul’s statement in Romans 8:19-21 affirms the same truth, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The “revealing” Paul speaks of in v. 19 is “the redemption of our bodies”(v.23).

Anthony Hoekema stated the importance of these truths, “The total work of Christ is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin. That purpose will not be accomplished until God has ushered in the new earth, until Paradise Lost has become Paradise Regained…God will not be satisfied until the entire universe has been purged of all the results of man’s fall.” You can see how the new order of things will be different from the old or present order by reading Revelation 21:1-22:5.

Colossians 2:13-15 reveals the two aspects of the work of Christ, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities; made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Verse 14 addresses the legal aspect. He “took away” or expiated our sins. Verse 15 reveals the dramatic aspect. He is the conquering hero. Christ publicly disgraced the powers of evil. Like a triumphant general he drives the defeated foes before him in a parade of victory. It is significant that in Luke 11:14-28 Jesus describes his own ministry in terms of victory over the forces of evil.

Another significant passage is Ephesians 3:10-11, “His [God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I love how the IVP Dictionary of the New Testament makes the point of these verses clear, “The church is pivotal in the struggle against the powers of evil”(p. 382). Darrell Bock puts it into today’s language, “The church is to be an audio-visual display of God’s reconciling work.” God’s wisdom is made known even to the cosmic powers whose identity is made clear in Ephesians 6:12. Their ultimate judgment is continually before them. They can’t escape it. They can run but they can’t hide.

Let me conclude with Ephesians 1:9-10, “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” Here we see that God’s intent is to restore the original harmony of the universe in Christ (Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary). Christ summarizes everything because it’s only in relation to him that everything makes sense. He alone defeats the impersonal enemies of sin and death which came into the world as a result of human rebellion. He alone conquers “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”(Ephesians 6:12). Finally, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”(Ephesians 1:7).

2 Corinthians 1:20 summarizes everything, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

Elder Jim Gordon

Leaning forward, you strain to hear. The fresh, cool breeze of the garden morning brushes your cheek. Bending, you look into that open, black-dark mouth of the tomb, its only light the sun’s thin finger reaching past your shoulder to touch the corner of a bone box. But the bones for which it waits have changed, gotten up and walked away. No smell of death; only the sweet scent of burial spices hanging in the air.

Bouncing off the walls of this vacated tomb, you may hear echoes from another garden where the lie, “Has God really said?” prevailed, and death was ushered in. But now, in this garden the lie has been silenced with a resounding, “Yes!! His Word lives!” and death has been driven out, the curse of Eden swallowed up in this empty space.

And do you hear the echo of righteous Noah, who built a deliverance to carry God’s creations through the judgment, or Father Abraham, through whom all the peoples of the earth would be blessed? Do you hear the echoes of Egypt’s oppressive slavery turned inside-out in powerful salvation, and at its peak an innocent lamb slain so that death would pass over? Do you hear the echo of new life found through parting waters, or of bread, water, and the Shekinah tent given in a wilderness? Do you hear the death-dealing law, unable to give life, at once fulfilled and filled full by the Life? Do you hear these echoes?

As you now kneel on this rough-hewn path leading into where Hope was dead for a moment, do you hear Joshua’s name, bouncing ’round these walls, the same name as “Yeshua,” “Jesus,” whose very name shouts “Salvation!”? Walls have crumbled. Evil has been judged, banished from the land. Joshua led God’s people to a promised place, a place flowing with all good things, as does now his namesake, who takes us to a promised rest harder bought. And the chaos of Judges too rings through this darkened grave, its “every man did what was right in his own eyes” now crushed under a staggering obedience, one Man having done what was right to give us new hearts, making us right with God.

King David’s words, “You will not allow your Holy One to see decay,” hang in this sweet air, and His Son, the ultimate Man, the ultimate King, receives the coronation song and, finally, dominion of the world and of a different kind of Kingdom. And this Easter tomb, having become a temple of sorts, housing God, echoes with the words of blessing over Solomon’s temple, its walls now torn down but built up in flesh and bone, stone by stone, to go walking through the world, taking the Light of the Gospel, the Presence, to all the black corners of the earth. The temple decisively cleansed by one Offering, the Great High Priest intercedes, never to offer another sacrifice, the way into the holiest place forever opened by His trail-blazing life.

Here too, in this now-hollow crypt ring full the words of Isaiah, “On this mountain.….He will destroy death forever,” and Jeremiah’s “they will all know Me,” and do you hear Ezekiel’s bones rattle with hope? Exile having been exiled, this now is the true return, the Kingdom come, God’s people ruled by one ever-living King.

A baby’s cry, warbling out from a dusty trough, warbles here too, for the birth of Salvation always was leading to death, thus to this place. Vulnerability led to and ended here. The Jordan with open sky and loving Voice, the temptation to bow down, gain dominion, and avoid the terrible fate, and the transfiguration, shining and telling of his Exodus — events that all anticipate this shaking of the earth, this shattering of our assumptions. Echoed in every inch of this tomb are Love’s words, “no greater love,” and Love’s power that shushed a storm and raised a child. You hear them here in this cavernous glory.

And now you turn looking from this garden to the outpouring, the Spirit come, and to the church spreading down the ages, and to those who die in Hope, and you see us. For all these echoes from the Easter tomb, you realize, are our Story, and we, at the mouth of this conquered grave, stand at the center of His Story.

I remember listening to Gunsmoke and The Lone Ranger on the radio. I would sit at the kitchen table and let my imagination roam freely through the Old West.

Then Matt Dillon and the Lone Ranger came to TV. Soon the golden age of cowboys was on us and I loved it! There were so many of them I can’t remember them all. I do find myself thinking about these: Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, Bonanza, High Chaparral, Big Valley, and Johnny Yuma.

Somewhere along the way I picked up a love for reading and a love of history. So I started reading about and studying the American West. It did not take me long to uncover an important truth: the American West of popular novels, TV, and movies had been built on legends mingled with historical facts. I soon made another discovery: The men and women of the real West were far more interesting than the legends. Soon I was hooked on history even more.

At Wheaton Graduate School the door to Historical Theology was opened to me by Dr. Robert Webber. I ran through it with eagerness. I took every course possible in my time there on the history of the Church and the development of Christian doctrine. As I discovered the historical roots of the Church I was given a new vision for and understanding of the Church.

Why am I recounting all these experiences? I have one aim: I want you to read history. The vast majority of people, including Christians, do not like reading history. I really don’t blame them, either. The main root of the problem is the way it is most often taught. It ends up being a memorization of people, dates, and events. Soon you are lost in a sea of facts and you flee from it in despair.

I am asking you to look at it differently. Look at history through the lens of Scripture. Consider Psalm 145: 3-7,

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

Here the psalmist calls us to look for the “mighty acts” of God in history. We are then to “meditate” on them and “proclaim” them to others. As you read history you will often discover the awesome deeds of God recounted in books that are not even designed to speak of God. They are just retelling historical events – they believe.

Psalm 46:7-11 calls us with these words,

The Lord almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Do you believe that God is the sovereign God as well as the personal God who acts in history? Do you believe He breaks into space and time to accomplish His purpose and carry out His plans? Have you seen His works and history and recounted them to others?

Look at Psalm 64:9-10

All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him!

Wouldn’t it be wise for us, the righteous, “to ponder what He has done” now? Shouldn’t we be rejoicing in and proclaiming His acts now? If we are not aware of what He has done in history, how can we proclaim it to others?

You may think, “Aren’t history books expensive? I don’t have the money to invest in books now.” Let me encourage you. There is no need to spend a lot of money on books. Did you know that our church library contains numerous volumes that can get you started as you look for the mighty acts of God in history? You can find them under these three genres: Biography, History, and Classics.

Consider starting with one these:

Five Great Evangelists by John Armstrong
The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century by Roland Bainton
John Newton: Letters of a Slave Trader Freed by God’s Grace by Dick Bohrer

There are many more available. One of our librarians would enjoy helping you find a book that would encourage and challenge you.

By the way, in my reading of Church history I found a new hero: Martin Luther. He was sort of a Christian cowboy so it’s no wonder I was drawn to him. He has been a help and inspiration to me. I hope you find a hero as you travel the trail of history.

Good reading!
Elder Jim Gordon

Last week I finished such a book. It thrilled me with its loads of illuminating insight. Written by Australian John Dickson, the senior minister of St. Andrews Roseville on Sydney’s North Shore, The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission eloquently sets forth a vision for how every Christian can be involved in activities that explicitly promote Christ to the world and draw others to him … and only a few of those activities involve speaking.

Make no mistake, John Dickson believes passionately in the importance of speaking the gospel. Dickson is not contending for the oft-quoted aphorism, “Preach the gospel at all times—if necessary, use words.” To fully and faithfully preach the gospel, Dickson believes we must use words. But there are a whole range of activities through which Christians can promote Christ, and they involve the whole of our lives, not just our lips.

Taking his cue from Psalm 96, Dickson says the Bible’s most basic doctrine is that there is only one God to whom all people belong and owe their allegiance: “He is to be feared above all gods” (Psalm 96:4). God’s people are called to promote this reality everywhere, in all that we do. In so doing, we are calling people to embrace the fundamental reality of human existence: “Promoting the gospel to the world is more than a rescue mission (though it is certainly that as well); it is a reality mission. It is our plea to all to acknowledge that they belong to one Lord.”

We follow the Friend of Sinners. Dickson shows us how to unselfconsciously promote Him to others with confidence, creativity, and commitment. And it all starts with prayer.

Sharing his own story of coming to faith in Christ, Dickson tells about Glenda, a woman who earnestly, regularly, and specifically prayed for Dickson and his classmates at school. Her prayers led her to open her home to these teenagers for a weekly time of state-mandated religious instruction. It was through the faithful care and outreach of Glenda that Dickson and at least five of his friends came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. “Prayer is the hidden part of our mission … It is also the most basic part of our mission. Observing this reminds us that ultimately the mission is not ours but God’s.”

With lucid application of the Scriptures, and story after story of different ways in which Christ’s people have promoted the Friend of Sinners, Dickson encourages us that God is committed to using us in His mission. By sharing our finances, doing good deeds, gathering for worship on Sundays, giving people apt replies to their questions and comments, and living beautiful lives, we can “in every way … make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:10).

Through it all, Dickson is careful to define and expound the gospel message itself, in all its varied forms and expressions. He stirringly reminds us that the gospel message and the Gospel books cannot be separated: “Just as there can be no telling of the gospel that excludes the doctrines of salvation, there can be no telling of the gospel that overlooks the narrative of the Savior’s life.”

This book is drenched in the attractive beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ and driven by a passion to make Him known to the whole world. I pray the same would be true of New Covenant Bible Church. May we be drenched in Christ’s beauty and driven by a passion to make Him known to everyone in all the world.

That’s why I’m excited about a three-month course Pastor Dave DeHaan will be teaching, beginning April 1. “The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission” class will meet on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in Room 300. Pastor DeHaan will use the content of the book as a launching pad for teaching and discussion.

I’m also full of hope about how God will use the Exploring Christianity course starting Thursday, April 12. We all have a role to play in promoting Jesus, the Friend of Sinners. And it starts with and is sustained all along the way by prayer. Let us plead with God to shape and mold our lives into the image of our Savior, so that we carry His aroma and adorn His gospel in all that we say and do. Let us pray especially for a breakthrough in gospel outreach as we launch Exploring Christianity.

All for Jesus,

David Sunday

On Sunday I mentioned C.S. Lewis’ struggle with the “absence of God” while he was grieving the death of his wife. He wrote in A Grief Observed, “Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?”

That was in Chapter One. Last night I read the rest of the story. In Chapter Three Lewis inches toward a resolution.

He discovered one morning, several weeks after his wife’s death, that something quite unexpected had happened. When he awoke, he found his heart lighter than it had been for many weeks. There were a variety of plausible explanations. For one, he had been suffering sheer physical exhaustion through all the months that had led up to his wife’s death, caring for her in her excruciating illness. Finally he had gotten some rest. On top of that, the weather had shifted--the sun was shining and a light breeze was refreshing the atmosphere. “And suddenly,” he writes, “at the very moment when, so far, I mourned [her] least, I remembered her best... It was as if the lifting of the sorrow removed a barrier.”

That wasn’t the end of Lewis’ sorrow--no, not by any stretch of the imagination. But it was a brief “lifting of the sorrow.” And he gleaned a helpful lesson from it. He learned that frantic emotions can temporarily diminish our capacity to receive what God is able and willing to give us. Here it is, in Lewis’ own words:

You can’t see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears. You can’t, in most things, get what you want if you want it too desperately: anyway, you can’t get the best out of it. ‘Now! Let’s have a real good talk’ reduces everyone to silence. ‘I must get a good sleep tonight’ ushers in hours of wakefulness. Delicious drinks are wasted on a really ravenous thirst. Is it similarly the very intensity of the longing that draws the iron curtain, that makes us feel we are staring into a vacuum when we think about our dead? ‘Them as asks’ (at any rate ‘as asks to importunately’) don’t get. Perhaps can’t.  

And so, perhaps, with God. I have gradually been coming to feel that the door is no longer shut and bolted. Was it my own frantic need that slammed it in my face? The time when there is nothing at all in your soul except a cry for help may be just the time when God can’t give it: you are like the drowning man who can’t be helped because he clutches and grabs. Perhaps your own reiterated cries deafen you to the voice you hoped to hear.

But didn’t Jesus teach us, “Knock and it shall be opened”?

Yes. “But does knocking mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac?,” replies Lewis. After all, we must have a capacity to receive--and “perhaps your own passion temporarily destroys the capacity.”

Are you desperate for God to do something in your life right now? Do you feel like you are drowning in your distress? Are you lashing about in the waves, oblivious to the fact that your Rescuer is near?

When I was twenty, I never had trouble sleeping. Now that my age has (more than) doubled, I know what it’s like to feel very tired but be unable to sleep. And the more I tell myself, “You need to get some sleep!”, the worse it gets. Rest doesn’t come easily until you stop thinking about how much you need it.

Could it be that God is calling you to be still? Remember how the LORD spoke to Elijah in his distress:

And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ (1 Kings 19:11b-13).

Are you quiet enough to hear the Lord whisper?

“The Lord is near” (Phil. 4:5). He is “a very present help in time of trouble” (Psalm 46:1). “The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deut. 30:14).

But maybe your heart is too noisy to hear his voice. What shall you do?

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him... Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil” (Psalm 37:7a, 8b). “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation... For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him” (Psalm 62:1, 5). “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Psalm 131:2).

Still, my soul, be still...
David Sunday