Does God have a Plan for the World? Firm Foundations – Learning with the 1689 Confession (5)

Scripture: Daniel 4.34-5, Romans 11. 30-33

Confession: Chapter 3, God’s Decree

1. ¹From all eternity God decreed all that should happen in time, and this He did freely and unalterably, consulting only His own wise and holy will. ²Yet in so doing He does not become in any sense the author of sin, nor does He share responsibility for sin with sinners. ³Neither, by reason of His decree, is the will of any creature whom He has made violated; nor is the free working of second causes put aside; rather, it is established. ⁴In all these matters the divine wisdom appears, as also does God’s power and faithfulness in effecting that which He has purposed.

Num. 23.19, Isa. 46.10, Jn. 19.11, Ac. 4.27, 28, Rom. 9.15, 18, Eph. 1.3-5, 11, Heb. 6.17, Jas. 1.13, 1 Jn. 1.5

5. ¹Before the world was made, God’s eternal, immutable purpose, which orginated in the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, moved Him to choose (or to elect), in Christ, certain of mankind to everlasting glory. ²Out of His mere free grace and love He predestinated those chosen ones to life, although there was nothing in them to cause Him to choose them.

Rom. 8.30, 9.13, 16, Eph. 1.4, 9, 11, 2.5, 12, 1 Thess. 5.9, 2 Tim. 1.9

7. ¹The high mystery of predestination needs to be handled with special prudence and caution, so that men, being directed to the will of God revealed in His Word and obeying the same, may be assured of their eternal election through the certainty of their effectual calling. ²By this means predestination will promote the praise of God and reverential awe and wonder. ³It will encourage humility and diligence, and bring forth much comfort to all who sincerely obey the Gospel.

Lke 10.20, Ro. 11.5,6,20,33, Eph. 1.6, 1 Thess. 1.4,5, 2 Pe. 1.10

Study Group Questions:

1. Read Daniel 4.34-5 and Romans 11. 30-33 together at the start of your study. What strikes you from these two passages? How do these verses want you to feel about the Living God?

2. What are the two key words which describe God’s will in 1¹? How do those help us as we approach our topic?

3. Look at 1³. If God has a sovereign plan for humanity, does that make us robots? Why / why not?

4. Read Ephesians 1.1-6, and then Conf. 5^1-2.What does 5¹ tell us that God must do if we are to be saved?

5. If the Conf. 5^1-2 is true, how should we think about our salvation, and how should we think about the God of our salvation?

6. What is 7¹ saying? What are some of the pitfalls which we must avoid when thinking about predestination?

7. Now look at 1 Thessalonians 1.4-5. How does a confident belief in predestination shape our attitude towards God; and to our Christian lives?

How can we Relate to the Trinity? Firm Foundations - Learning with the 1689 Confession (4)

Last Sunday Evening's notes:

Scripture: John 14.5-23

Confession: Chapter 2, God and the Holy Trinity

3. ¹The Divine Persons constitute the Godhead – the Father, the Son (or the Word), and the Holy Spirit. ²They are one in substance, in power and in eternity. ³Each is fully God, and yet the Godhead is one and indivisible. ⁴The Father owes His being to none. ⁵He is Father to the Son Who is eternally begotten of Him. ⁶The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. ⁷Three Persons, one infinite and eternal God, not to be divided in nature or in being, are distinguished in Scripture by their personal relations within the Godhead, and by the variety of works which they undertake. ⁸Their tri-unity (that is, the doctrine of the Trinity) is the essential basis of all our fellowship with God, and of the comfort we derive from our dependence upon Him.

Ex. 3.14, Matt. 28.19, Jn. 1.14, 18, 14.11, 15.26, 1 Cor. 8.6, 2 Cor. 13.14, Gal. 4.6, 1 Jn. 5.7

Study Group Questions:

1. “Every time I think of the One, my mind is drawn to the Three; yet every time I think of the Three, my mind is drawn to the One.” (Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329 – 389 AD). Can you relate to this great theologian’s struggle as he tried to think about God as Trinity?

2. Read Conf. 3.1-3. Why is it essential that we believe in and strive to understand the Doctrine of the Trinity?

3. The Confession makes three very important statements, one for each Person of the Trinity, in sentences 4, 5 and 6. Read them together. What do we learn about the relationships of each of the Persons to the others? What strikes you here?

4. How does 3. 5 describe the Son’s relation to the Father? Look at Ps. 2.7 and Jn. 1.1-3. What do these verses teach us about the relationship of the Son to the Father?

5. Look at Conf. 3.6 Jn. 14.16, 28, and 15.26. What do we learn about the Person of the Holy Spirit, and His relationship to the Father and to the Son?

6. Check 3.7 and Mark 1.9-13. What does this Bible passage teach us about the work of the Persons of the Trinity in achieving our salvation in Jesus?
7. Compare Conf. 3.8 with 2 Cor. 13.14, and Matt. 28.19-20. How are you encouraged to know the Trinity as you live as a disciple week?

We need to talk about Kevin - because he makes a lot of sense about Sundays

I wouldn't want to add much to this balanced counsel from Kevin DeYoung about using our Sundays to the glory of God and the good of our souls:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/01/29/dont-give-up-on-the-evening-service-2/

Walk on!

‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ Joshua 1.9

What a thrilling promise! The Lord Himself shall go with us. That is a cause for rejoicing, as it’s a motivation for courageous living. It’s a promise, though, which comes after a command. In fact, it comes after a series of commands, in verses 7-8: ‘be strong, be careful to obey, don’t turn aside from the Law, don’t set it aside, reflect on it day and night.’ God is pledging His serious, covenant commitment to His servant. He promises that He will be with him, always, and in all places. But Joshua must take His Lord seriously. The Word he has been given must be the Word which he commits to his heart and life. Do this, and he will know the Presence of the Living Lord. So will we.

Some wisdom from Dale Ralph Davis on these three verses:

‘This command is given specifically to Joshua as the leader of God’s people. Can we definitely assume that it also obligates every Israelite or Christian? Yes, If we don’t like Joshua 1.7-8, we still have to face Psalm 1.2, which describes what should be true of every godly believer (ie ‘but His delight is in Yahweh’s Torah, and on His Torah he meditates day and night……..’). There is no escape! Indeed the Torah should be our delight. Life in the Kingdom of God must be lived out of the Word of God. Joshua 1 and Psalm 1 alike tell us that a life pleasing to God does not arise from mystical experiences or warm feelings or from a new gimmick advocated in a current release from one of our evangelical publishers; no, it comes from the Word God has already spoken and from obedience to that Word.’

‘Joshua: no Falling Words’ p.20.

Firm Foundations – Learning with the 1689 Confession (3)

Sunday Study notes:

Session 3: Who is God?

Scripture: Isaiah 40.12-31

Confession: Chapter 2, God and the Holy Trinity

1. ¹There is but one, and only one, living and true God. ²He is self-existent and infinite in His being and His perfections. ³None but He can comprehend or understand His essence. ⁴He is pure spirit, invisible, and without body, parts, or the changeable feelings of men. ⁵He alone possesses immortality, and dwells amid the light insufferably bright to mortal men. ⁶He never changes. ⁷He is great beyond all our conceptions, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty and infinite. ⁸He is most holy, wise, free and absolute. ⁹All that He does is the outworking of His changeless, righteous will, and for His own glory. ¹⁰He is most loving, gracious, merciful, and compassionate. ¹¹He abounds in goodness and truth. ¹²He forgives iniquity, transgression and sin. ¹³He rewards those who seek Him diligently. ¹⁴But He hates sin. ¹⁵He will not overlook guilt or spare the guilty, and He is perfectly just in executing judgment.

Gen. 17.1, Ex. 3.14, 34.6-7, Deut. 4.15,16, 6.4, 1 Ki. 8.27, Neh. 9.32, 33, Ps. 5.5,6, 90.2, 115.3, Prov. 16.4, Is. 6.3, 46.10, 48.12, Jer. 10.10, 23.23, 24, Nah. 1.2, 3, Mal. 3.6, Jn. 4.24, Ro. 11.36, 1 Cor. 8.4, 6. 1 Tim. 1.17, Heb. 11.6

2. ¹God is all-sufficient, and life, glory, goodness and blessedness are found in Him and in Him alone. ²He does not stand in need of any of the creatures that He has made, nor does He receive any part of His glory from them. ³On the contrary, ⁴He manifests His own glory in and by them, He is the fountain-head of all being, and the origin, channel and end of all things. ⁵Over all His creatures He is sovereign. ⁶He uses them as He pleases, and does for them or to them all that He wills. ⁷His sight penetrates to the heart of all things. ⁸His knowledge is infinite and infallible. ⁹No single thing is to Him at risk or uncertain, for He is not dependent upon created things. ¹⁰In all His decisions, doings and demands He is most holy. ¹¹Angels and men owe to Him as their Creator all worship, service and obedience, and whatever else He may require at their hands.

Job 22.2,3, Ps. 119.68, 145.17, 148.13, Ezek. 11.5, Dan. 4.25, 34, 35, Jn. 5.26, Ac. 15.18, Ro. 11.34,36, Heb. 4.13, Rev. 5.12-14

Study Group Questions:

1. “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Comment, please!

2. Look at the whole paragraph of Conf. 1. Underline in your notes all that God is in His Being which we are not in our humanity. Why do we need to know these truths, and why did Isaiah’s first hearers?

3. Now underline the aspects of God’s character which are totally different from ours. How should we think and feel differently about God in the light of all of these truths?

4. God is ‘self-existent’ (Conf. 1.2). What does this mean, and how should we react to it?

5. Read Conf. 2.5-9. How do these truths help you to approach what’s ahead of you this week?

6. Read Conf. 2.10. What does it mean that God is ‘Holy’? What confidence in God can you derive from the statement of Conf. 2.10?

7. Check Conf. 2.11. What do we owe to God, and why?

8. Look at Isaiah 40.25. Can you comment on that verse, in the light of what we’ve seen this in this study?

Your right hand verse

'The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished.' Numbers 14.18

At Hope we're learning a verse a week.

Or are we? Only with intention comes success, when it's down to Bible verse learning. It is so easy to learn a verse a week. This week all you need to do is to memorise 22 words, and get them in the right order! There's is a sure-fire way to fail, though. And that is, don't plan to learn the verse. Don't plan - and failure is guaranteed!

So how can we spur one another one to get the Word remembered? And how might we do that with this week's verse?

One way of learning Numbers 14.18 is with the help of your right hand. You could do it now. Raise your left thumb - that's 'the Lord'. Now, we've got four statements about Him. Raise your first finger - 'slow to anger'; middle finger, 'abounding in love.' Now do that in sequence, raising thumb and each finger in turn. Do that ten times out loud. Twenty times, and you'll be remembering it next week.

Next, it's the third finger, 'forgiving sin and rebellion.' And little finger, 'yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished.' Again, ten times out loud for those two.

Now you've done it, stand up, walk round the room, and recite it ten times. Go on....

...I've just done that. It took me 60 seconds exactly, finger-raising, and all. After the fourth time the brain remembers the rhythm of the words, and there's very little mental effort involved. It's beginning to lodge in the brain.

For some, though, this is where the doubt creeps in. Rote-learning Scripture, are you sure? Putting words into the brain? Or, more like, remembering to sound out some syllables by frequent repetition? Sounds suspicious, to some people. It sounds like it's an exercise in bypassing the brain. And maybe bypassing the heart, too.

I disagree. Of course our learning the Scriptures can bypass both brain and heart. But it's an exercise which is more than worth undertaking, even with that risk acknowledged. We commit the Scriptures to memory, because we need to get the truths into us. That begins by reciting and learning the verse. It is carried on by reflecting on it. We don't just say the verse out loud, we soak in it. We turn it over in our minds, and feel its weightiness. The weight of truth is the weight of glory as we reflect on the Word.

Take this week's verse. 'The Lord...does not leave the guilty unpunished'. In the truest, biblical sense, the Lord rages against sin. His holy fury will be unleashed against sin and sinners. That is what the Cross shows us. It is the revelation of God's anger at sin, and much as it is of His loving determination to rescue lost sinners. God condemns sin.

And yet, He saves sinners. Hell-deserving sinners come broken to the cross, and discover a Saviour who was broken for them. He pays the debt, that debtors may be forgiven. He takes Hell, that sinners may be welcomed into Heaven. Amazing love! Then work back through the verse: He forgives sin and rebellion, that is the work and the message of the Cross. He is the One who is just, and who justifies the ungodly. At the cross we discover for ourselves the God who abounds in love. We marvel how slow He is to anger with our selfish, spiteful selves. Love adores, belief is fulled. This is the Lord! We look at our calling to honour the Lord in a fresh light. We abhor our sin with new intensity, and we press on to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways.

So, if you want to know and follow Him like this - raise your right hand. May the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.

Firm Foundations – Learning with the 1689 Confession (2)

A great, lively session in our groups last Sunday night after I preached on Scripture from Psalm 119.

A new arrival in our group shared how he came to Christ a few years ago from a drug and alcohol abusing background. He's been at a range of churches, but really enjoyed the solid food of Word and Confession as we shared each.

Session 2: How do we Understand the Bible?

Scripture: Psalm 119.97-112

Confession: Chapter 1, The Holy Scripture

4. ¹Scripture is self-authenticating. Its authority does not depend upon the testimony of man or church, but entirely upon God, its author, Who is truth itself. ²It is to be received because it is the Word of God.

5. ¹The testimony of the church of God may influence and persuade us to hold the Scripture in the highest esteem. ²The heavenliness of its contents, the efficacy of its doctrine, the majesty of its style, the agreement between all its parts from first to last, the fact that throughout it gives all glory to God, the full revelation it gives of the only way of salvation – these, together with many other incomparably high qualities and full perfections, supply abundant evidence that it is the Word of God. ³At the same time, however, we recognise that our full persuasion and assurance of its infallible truth and divine authority is the outcome of the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.

6. ¹The sum total of God’s revelation concerning all things essential to His own glory, and to the salvation and faith and life of men, is either explicitly set down or implicitly contained in Holy Scripture. ²Nothing, whether a supposed revelation of the Spirit or man’s traditions, is ever to be added to Scripture. ³At the same time, however, we acknowledge that inward enlightenment from the Spirit of God is necessary for the right understanding of what Scripture reveals.

7. ¹The contents of Scripture vary in their degree of clarity, and some men have a better understanding of them than others. ²Yet those things which are essential to man’s salvation and which must be known, believed and obeyed are so clearly propounded and explained in one place of another, that men educated or uneducated may attain to a sufficient understanding of them if they but use the ordinary means.

8. ¹All God’s people have a right to, and an interest in, the Scripture, and they are commanded in the fear of God to read it and search it.

9. ¹It is an infallible rule that Scripture is to be interpreted by Scripture, that is to say, one part by another. ²Hence any dispute as to the true, full and evident meaning of a particular passage must be determined in the light of clearer, comparable passages.

Study Group Questions:

1. How do people decide whether they can trust the Bible today? How should we? Discuss the questions with reference to the grid:

Bible	Reason
Institution	Experience

2. What do you think about the statement of Conf. 4.2?

3. Look at Conf. 5.3. Is the authority of the Bible something which we can reason our way (or argue others) to? Why / why not?

4. How will we ultimately understand the Bible, according to Conf. 6.3? How do we see this conviction in Ps. 119.97-112?

5. Does this change the way we try to read and understand our Bibles?

6. Look at Conf. 7.1-2, and 8.1. Whose job is it that Christians get into their Bibles, and understand them?

7. Let’s hear from at least 3 people in your group. How do you read your Bible?

Include things like how often, and when in the day; what aids you use in Bible reading; how you deal with losing track or getting stale in your reading?

8. What steps could you take for getting your Bible reading started, or back on track?

Firm Foundations – Learning with the 1689 Confession (1)

Here are the notes for our Taste & See Study Groups of the 8th January. I preached from Psalm 19, then we gathered to look at the Word and at select Confession Passages. The highlight of my group was sharing the study with four attenders between 12 and 14 years of age. Their hunger and honest engagement with these meaty issues was thrilling!

Session 1: How does God Speak Today?

Scripture: Psalm 19

Confession: Chapter 1, The Holy Scripture

1. [i]The Holy Scripture is the all-sufficient, certain and infallible rule or standard of the knowledge, faith and obedience that constitute salvation. [ii]Although the light of nature, and God's works of creation and providence, give such clear testimony to His goodness, wisdom and power that men who spurn them are left inexcusable, yet they are not sufficient of themselves to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary for salvation. [iii]In consequence the merciful Lord from time to time and in a variety of ways has revealed Himself, and made known His will to His church. [iv]And furthermore, in order to ensure the preservation and propagation of the truth, and the establishment and comfort of the church against the corrupt nature of man and the malice of Satan and the world, He caused this revelation of Himself and His will to be written down in all its fullness. [v]And as the manner in which God formerly revealed His will has long ceased, the Holy Scripture becomes absolutely essential to men.

Ps 19:1-3; Prov 22:19-21; Isa 8:20; Lke 16:29,31; Rom 1:19-21, 2:14-15, 15:4; Eph 2:20; 2 Tim 3:15-17; Heb 1:1; 2 Pet 1:19-20

4. [vi]The Scripture is self-authenticating. [vii]Its authority does not depend upon the testimony of any man or church, but entirely upon God, its author, who is truth itself. It is to be received because it is the Word of God.

1Thess 2:13; 2Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21; 1 Jn 5:9

5. [viii]The testimony of the church of God may influence and persuade us to hold the Scripture in the highest esteem. [ix]The heavenliness of its contents, the efficacy of its doctrine, the majesty of its style, the agreement between all its parts from first to last, the fact that throughout it gives all glory to God, the full revelation it gives of the only way of salvation - these, together with many other incomparably high qualities and full perfections, supply abundant evidence that it is the Word of God. [x]At the same time, however, we recognize that our full persuasion and assurance of its infallible truth and divine authority is the outcome of the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.

Jn 16:13-14; 1 Cor 2:10-12; 1 Jn 2:20,27

Study Group Questions:

Has anything really struck you as you’ve read the Bible in recent weeks? Why is that, and how has it helped you?

Do you agree with the description of the Bible in Conf. 1ⁱ? Would you want to add anything to this description?

What can we learn about God in Creation? Compare Psalm 19.1-4

How is Creation unable to bring us the knowledge of God which we need?

Look at Conf. 5^ix and Psalm 19.7-10. What are some pointers towards the authority of Scripture?

How are we convinced that Scripture is actually God’s Word? Check Conf. 5^x

Read Psalm 19.11-14. In the light of these verses, why has God given us His Word?

What fresh confidence can you take from today’s study as you go to your bible this week? What fresh purpose will you have as you read it?

Firm Foundations

This term at Taste & See on Sunday evenings – and for a good few terms hence – we’re pursuing a series on exploring our faith which we're calling 'Firm Foundations'. We’re using the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith to give shape and depth to exploring the Gospel.

In the preaching we’re taking a passage of Scripture each night which treats the topic set forth by the Confession. So. last night I preached on ‘How does God speak to us Today?’ from Psalm 19 (mainly verse 7). In our study groups we looked at select paragraphs from chapter 1 of the Confession, and worked them through in the light of Psalm 19. We don’t venerate the Confession, but we do recognise that it is the fruit of careful biblical and theological reflection. Spurgeon put it like this:

‘This ancient document is the most excellent epitome of the things most surely believed among us. It is not issued as an authoritative rule or code of faith, whereby you may be fettered, but as a means of edification in righteousness. It is an excellent, though not inspired, expression of the teaching of those Holy Scriptures by which all confessions are to be measured. We hold to the humbling truths of God's sovereign grace in the salvation of lost sinners. Salvation is through Christ alone and by faith alone.’

Last night it was great to see young and old getting to grips with what the Confession says about the Word of God. Infallibility and the self-authenticating nature of Scripture are big subjects for our younger attenders; but these issues are vital ones for them to get to grips with. We want to grow oaks through our ministry at Hope, not quick-growing but shallow-rooted striplings.

This old Confession is right up to date. We learn through it how God’s Word is entirely trustworthy, and sufficient. Both are vitally necessary when there’s so little confidence in God’s written Word, and such a tendency for Christians to hunt for their ‘own’ word from the Lord. The Confession teaches us that this Word, breathed by the Spirit, and ministered in the Spirit to our hearts, and more than all we need to live in the Spirit, wise for salvation and ready for every good
work.

Writing at just the same time as the Confession’s authors, Francis Turretin wrote these equally
timeless and important words on the Scriptures, which I quoted on Sunday night:

‘The Holy Spirit by Whom believers should be God-taught does not render the Scriptures less necessary. He is not given to us in order to introduce new revelations, but to impress the written Word on our hearts; so that here the Word must never be separated from the Spirit. The former works objectively, the latter efficiently; the former strikes our ears from without, the latter opens the heart within. The Spirit is the teacher; Scripture is the doctrine which He teaches us.'

Taste & See

Tonight we began our second term of Taste & See at Hope Church. Preaching, praise, food, Bible study, fellowship and laughter together make for really blessed and happy Sunday evenings. So what’s Taste & See?

We begin at 5.30, and top and tail a shorter sermon (25 mins max) with praise and prayer. At about 5 past 6 we have a simple meal together –soup and a roll, hotdogs, jacket potatoes, that sort of thing – and ask a £1 contribution to cover costs. At 6.30 we’re ready to break into our study groups, where we learn, share and pray together for an hour. We’re then ready to enjoy coffee and cake.

We believe that the whole church should come together, so we welcome the church’s children, and have a session for the smaller ones called BookWorms, where they learn Bible stories, and then join us for food.

Last term in the preaching we looked at the Life of Abraham, as the lens through which we learned about Christian faith. In our Bible times we studied Ephesians.

And we love it. These evenings are precious times for learning from God’s Word, and for really getting to know each other, and share the joys and the priorities of the Gospel. In my study group tonight there were eight sharing, four of them between twelve and fourteen, a nineteen year old student, and three crusties! It was thrilling that the younger members were so keen to study, and were asking great questions, and being so honest about the struggles they have in getting to grips with God’s Word.

We’ve only just started this pattern of ministry, so it’s too early to make real evaluations. The strengths of the work are obvious, though:

- we give a lot of time to learning from the Bible. This is a sermon and a Bible study in one evening, each of them concise, and people are motivated to get the most from each.

- people love eating together. Christians should do a lot of it. Our food is very simple, with minimal prep time and minimal mess, and our people appreciate that coming together as church will feed body as well as soul.

- we focus on each other. Time under God’s Word in the sermon, and then sharing it in groups, coupled with chatting over food and refreshments, means that people can really enjoy each other’s company.

- Sundays are special. Taste & See gives us all something we can really enjoy on the Lord’s Day. And week by week we learn that Psalm 34.8 is true.

Conferring, please

The Carey Ministers' Conference this week was, as I anticipated, excellent. A great bunch of guys and wives in ministry, loads of whom have been great friends over the years. The quality of ministry was high, the atmosphere one of humble delight in the Lord, and eagerness to serve His church. I really look forward to next, year, and to going with Sarah. The gathering seemed to enjoy my input about Hope Church's life to date, and future plans, and the antics of our twice a Sunday attending cat were well-received.

On Monday I'm off to Hothorpe Hall for a little over twenty four hours to the Church Student Ministry Conference. I went last year, and found it a real spur, with great people, and some really practical ministry. I'm really looking forward to learning more about how to ministry through this gathering.

And the travel? Definitely by car, thankyou. The trip to and from Swanwick on the bike in tearing winds was, let's say, hair-raising - even under the lid! And 100 miles plus with a travelling partner definitely is a chance for conversation, even though he's gutted that we're not biking it.

Conferences are for conferring. I really value these times to learn from others. And I dare to think that the church always benefits, too.

Live Bible

‘The Holy Spirit by Whom believers should be God-taught does not render the Scriptures less necessary. He is not given to us in order to introduce new revelations, but to impress the written Word on our hearts; so that here the Word must never be separated from the Spirit. The former works objectively, the latter efficiently; the former strikes our ears from without, the latter opens the heart within. The Spirit is the teacher; Scripture is the doctrine which He teaches us.'

Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Vol I, p.59

Into the Whirlwind

What a wonderful day for motorbiking, with high winds and driving rain...

I'm just off for a couple of days to the Carey Ministers' Conference in Derbyshire. I've considered attending the conference for several years, and have always heard great things about it. Then, the year I decide to go, I get to pitch in with the ministry. They've kindly asked my to talk about planting a confessional church. Mine will be the light session amongst some worthy heavyweights - think Jackanory alongside Newsnight. Still, much to look forward to.

The downside is that Sarah can't get free to come along. With a pre-exams teenager, and a sick child (and three reasonably able-bodied and brained others), as well as work on Thursday, she's got a lot on. So yet again, jollies for me, hard servitude for her. Please remember her, and even me, in your prayers.

Father Adam had many sons

"Our Lord Jesus Christ is, in some senses, more completely man than Adam ever was. Adam was not born; he was created as a man. Adam never had to struggle through the risks and weaknesses of infancy; he knew not the littlenesses of childhood,—he was full-grown at once. Father Adam could not sympathize with me as a babe and a child. But how man-like is Jesus! He does not begin with us in mid-life, as Adam did; but He is cradled with us, He accompanies us in the pains, and feebleness, and infirmities of infancy, and He continues with us even to the grave."

Charles Spurgeon

An Allen A-Z

Here's the roundup of the what, why and when of our 2011:-

Asher brings us all joy. He’s started Reception, and is loving reading (he is being taught Yorkshire phonics), writing, drawing – and most things gentle! He’s a contented little chap, and adored by all.

Burn Road. Our terrific house gives us space and joy. Lots of different building work through the year, and our latest project has been to get a wood-burner put in. The neighbours are slowly adjusting to our noise.

Chickens. Oh yes, the chickens have landed, 7 of them at the moment. Muck, eggs, and magic. Sam has a now-encyclopaedic poultry knowledge – and is not afraid to use it (he’s lectured on request in different classes at school).

Degus are back! This autumn Ezra bought three of the darlings. Think big gerbil with a strange tail. A welcome change from over-breeding gerbils.

Ezra is shining at school, and has very cool hair. He’s also a baptised follower of the Lord Jesus, having been immersed out of doors on a rain-lashed (July) day in the Pennines, to the joy of all who came. He’s still a brilliant artist, and an accomplished animal-handler – and a son we’re very proud of.

Family. It’s lovely having Sarah’s folks 50 minutes away now (who are having a house built for them at the farm), and they’re very generous in pitching in with the kids. As is Lewis’s mum, who comes up regularly. Bronny is loving Australia with Rodney and Anna.

Grace. We’re still here, because the Gospel is still true. Another year has seen the Lord guide, us, energise, protect and encourage us. 2011 has been quite a year, and the Lord has been magnificent to us all.

Hope Church. Where to start? We’re just over a year in, and now I’m one of three Elders looking after 35 members and all sorts of other attenders and inquirers. Life is very happy, and the Lord is doing great things among us.

Igloo. Huddersfield in Winter is not a cosy place to be!

Jemimah. Jemimah is our sunny, funny, kind girl. She excels in being very flexible – gymnastic and balletic, and also, being so generous and cheerful as a daughter, sister, and popular friend.

Kawasaki. Following a nasty night involving a motorbike and a thief, Lewis is back on the road. She’s blue, fast, and the make of bike every ten year old aspires to. He’s taking it steady – in style.

Lewis is still here –just! What a busy, blessed, fast-moving year. Lots of ministry in various forms. Too little fishing!

Maisy is our gorgeous teenager. She’s quietly acing at school, and has already done a few parts of different GCSEs. When she’s not at school, Maisy’s into climbing, and is a magnificent, kind and patient sister to all of her siblings (and she irons a very good shirt!). Her long-term ambition is costume design at London College of Fashion, but in the meantime she’s experimenting with her own costume.

Noise rising above the voices we hear the competing strains of violin (Sam), clarinet (Ezra) and flute (Jemimah). Not quite the Von Trapps yet.

Outdoors . We try to get onto the moors regularly so our Christmas present this year is a pair of hikingboots for all. No more wellies lost in pennine bogs!

Pressure. This has been a really tough year for us. We’ve had all sorts of adjustments, have had to get used to being far from Gunnersbury and many other friends, and work out life in a new place.

Quiet. We should be so lucky!

Reading. Sarah continues her column for Evangelicals Now, reviewing secular books. Sam and Jemimah have been listening to Oliver Twist . Books abound.

Sam. Lover of facts, war, weapons, chickens, facts, strategy games, maths, facts and chickens. Sam’s had a great year, loving Yr 6 and thoroughly up for he challenges of secondary school. We try to keep up with him….!

Travel. Not so much of it this year. Lewis’s preaching has taken him around a little, and the kids have seen bits of North Wales and North Yorkshire (and Lancashire – sssshhh).

Under the weather. We wouldn’t be the Allens without some health issues. Mercifully few emergencies this year, though Sam’s asthma has been a lot of hard work for him, lately much relieved by a nebuliser at home. Maisy still needs to be very careful with her diet. Sarah and Lewis haven’t fallen apart yet, despite this being our 40^th year.

Visitors. Bring ’em on! We’ve loved having London friends up with us, and have space for allcomers…

Wife. The beautiful Sarah. A tiring year of managing everyone and everything, compounded by her two day a week teaching job at Ezra and Maisy’s school. Her hobby – when she gets time for it - is sleeping!

Xceptional Holiday. A house lent to us in the north of Skye saw a wonderful fortnight’s holiday in August. Plenty of fishing and lobster potting (both successful), swimming, walking, climbing and general frolicking were enjoyed by all.

Yorkshire We’re loving the Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire tea, Yorkshire puddings and Yorkshire pride. They really do believe it’s God’s own county!

Zoo Degus, Chickens, NO DOG!! Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Gerbils. A lot has been fed and watered, put down, sold or escaped this year from our household.

And so, to baptisms

We're been having a very merry season at Hope. Our church is gelling, the lost are seeking Christ with us, the saints are being built up for works of service, and we are hugely grateful for the serious spirit of commitment which is tangible. And the joy! On Wednesday we admitted ten new members, so there are thirty five of us committed to covenant life together.

This Sunday morning we're celebrating three baptisms. We do not insist on believer's baptism for membership. I know that this is heresy of the rankest order amongst some of my baptistic brethren. But I see it this way; if John Calvin moved to Huddersfield, would I want to share life and labours with him in the same church? Or how about my Scottish Presbyterian friends? You bet I would. We believe that they should be able to identify with us, and to affirm what we profess as reformed and evangelical people, even if they don't share our convictions on baptism.

That said, we don't believe that baptism is unimportant. Far from it. I never wanted to become a Baptist, but I became convinced of believer's baptism. So here I stand. We won't allow anyone to come into membership who hasn't thought about the matter very hard, and who isn't able to give a reasoned defence of their position. Nor will we allow anyone to serve as an Elder or Deacon who hasn't been baptised as a believer. Sorry, John Calvin, that's you!

We're delighted, then, that three of our newest members have come into membership having stated their desire to be baptised. Between them they clock up about fifty years of Christian experience. They've not been preached to, badgered, or even arm-wrestled with. They've taken the opportunity of applying for membership as a context in which to think baptism through, and have come to their convictions.

So when this Sunday comes there will be great joy. But there won't be great smugness. We're thrilled to be baptising Rachel, Andy and Graham, but we're more thrilled at their ongoing, fullhearted Christian discipleship. Under God we seek to be a church brimful with the Spirit, the Spirit of truth, love and unity. May it be so.

Huddersfield Calling! Autumn 2011 Hope Church Planting Prayer News and Needs

Dear Praying Friends,

‘Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” (1 Samuel 7.12)

…and He most certainly has! Since we wrote last, a busy summer has turned into an equally hectic Autumn. God’s grace has been, quite simply, magnificent, and it’s a joy to honour all that He’s doing with the Allens and Hope Church.

Sundays are obviously the focus of our work and worship. Since September we’ve been meeting in Brian Jackson House in the middle of town. This is an excellent venue, with a superb central position, and the large ground floor room we use has excellent facilities for all aspects of our work. Our numbers have crept to approximately fifty in the morning, and forty in the evening, including a couple of new families who we’re all enjoying getting to know.

On Sunday evenings this term we’ve been trialling Taste & See, a ministry which involves a time of praise and preaching, then a simple meal which is followed by Bible study groups and then more fellowship. The reception so far has been excellent, so we’ll press on for the next couple of terms and take stock. We also meet on Wednesdays, where there is a great spirit of serious prayer.

Our real joy is still the folk the Lord is gathering. The majority of our number are committed Christians, though we’re loving having some seekers each week, and we’re slowly making inroads with the students. We have twenty five members (including Maisy and Ezra as Junior Members), and ten or so are exploring membership. The other Sunday we had an open house, which was a fabulous time of friendship and much laughter.

It seems that our Apprentices, Graham and Chris, have been with us for an age now, and they’re both making a huge contribution. They’re godly, wise, and very committed, and are taking forward work with students and evangelism, as well as lending a hand in many other things. Graham is teaching part-time alongside his work with us, and is studying on the Christian Ministry Training Course, on which I’m a tutor. Chris is with us for at least a year (he was working with UCCF in the town last year), and already I can barely imagine the thought of working without either of them.

Meanwhile, the children are going great guns at their schools (3 different ones!). Each is enjoying school in different ways. I think all are missing London friends, and are finding it slow-going developing really good friendships here. Still, they’re full of courage and no little faith as they continue to adjust in this new environment. Sam’s asthma has been troubling him a lot the last few months, and we continue to work with the Consultant on its best treatment. All of the children are predictably active doing different things, and it’s often hard working at home after school with the noise of three different instruments being practiced, or shooing a child away who causally walks into my study with a chicken tucked under one arm!

Sarah’s covering a maternity leave for two terms part-time, at Maisy and Ezra’s High School. She’s enjoying the stretch, but doesn’t plan to try and take it further beyond Easter.

Here are three very specific prayer updates: thankyou for your prayers relating to the Christian Bookshop in town. We’re so hungry to see this venue used as a centre for the best in Christian resources, as well as a base for discipleship and evangelism. We’re exploring a major refit and restock with the manager in order to further these goals. Do please pray on. Secondly, thanks for your prayers for the children’s summer camps. The oldest three who went had heaps of fun, and very spiritually enriching times. Thirdly, there was a wonderful resolution to my bike theft: following a quite reasonable insurance payout, and an uber-generous gift from a friend, I’m now back on the road in style!

Prayer Points:-

I wonder if I could give you a point a day, as perhaps an easy way to add the Allens and Hope to your prayers?

Sunday – Hope. Please remember our worship and meetings, that they would be full of Christ and His Cross, and so, full of joy and rich spiritual life for many.

Monday – Godliness. This term Sarah and I are moving into our 40s, and so are embarking on what is a decade for many of spiritual drift! Please pray that the Lord would fill us daily with His Holy Spirit, that we would grow in zeal and holiness, and in love with the Lord, each other, our children, friends, and the lost.

Tuesday - The Children need our prayers continually. Please pray that they would be kept from the Evil One in their schools, and that they would be encouraged as they look to Jesus. Pray on, too, for good friends, and for Christian ones, too.

Wednesday –Spiritual Growth in Hope. Pray that we would be people of the Word, Prayer and Service, and so, be overflowing with grace. Everything else is secondary.

Thursday – Evangelism. Please remember Graham leading the Evangelism Team, and our work of sharing the Gospel as Christmas approaches. We’ve got a couple of town-centre initiatives planned. We long to see people saved. Remember the Bookshop as a potential base for outreach longer-term.

Friday – Students. We’re delighted that a few students have definitely made their home with us, and are growing spiritually. Please pray that God would give us favour as we reach out to the University.

Saturday - Finance. We’ve had a couple of pledges for several thousand pounds each from two Christian charities. We’re so grateful, but with increased financial commitments in this excitingly expanding work, costs will increase accordingly. Please pray for the resources we need to do the work to God’s glory.

Thankyou all for your terrific loyalty in prayer, and support on so many levels. Please do keep in touch with us.

P.S. Did you know? I send out a weekly Hope Church Flier by email. If you don’t receive this, but would like to, just drop me a line.

Hope for Uncle John

A couple of months ago Uncle John asked for an interview on Hope Church. That wasn't the dying wish of John Stott, but a request from the other Uncle, John Benton, Polymath, Pastor Longissimus of Chertsey Street Baptist Church, and Editor of Evangelicals Now. Who was I not to oblige?

It's in November's issue, and you can now access it here.

The Needle's Eye

On Sunday morning we were thinking about our treasures. The rich young ruler, whose encounter with Jesus in recorded in Mark 10.17-31, shows the demands of Jesus that we be ready to surrender our wealth, to be 'downwardly mobile', and to enrich others. Would this man do what to all the world looked like madness, and walk away from career and comforts to follow Jesus? In the evening we looked at Genesis 22, the heart-searing call of God to Abraham to surrender his treasure, his only, dearly loved son, Isaac. Could he trust God enough with the joy of his heart? And could he truly believe that, through this appalling sacrifice, God really was good, and could alone be the treasure of his heart?

Both scenarios call for a faith in God which naturally we are light-years away from. We don't want to surrender our dearest riches, be they family, wealth, or whatever else we hold close. We want to keep them, and guard them, away from the dangers of what man might do to them. Or the dangers of what God might do.

Would you want to give up your riches so that you found yourself far less well-off than you currently are, refocusing your whole life and loves so that others might become truly rich as you learn to give up your comforts for them? Would you want to see your own child off to the pain and sacrifice of mission, to live with hardship and danger, called to sacrifice daily for their faith, maybe with the risk of paying the ultimate price because of their faith in God? Would you ever dare cast yourself on God so completely that you not only contemplate, but actually embrace, the radical life of cross-bearing with all that that may bring?

Three encouragements for all of us as we struggle to live as Jesus calls us to:

1. God gave His best

God did. God the Father took His Son, His only Son, Jesus, His heart's delight, and gave Him up to the Cross. He did not spare His own Son (Ro. 8.32, clearly echoing Abraham's sacrifice). His gift of Jesus to us guarantees His total, unconditional and lavish grace to us, His dearly loved children through Christ. God gave His best, and continues to give His best love to us in Jesus every day. Our confidence in Him can be total. And so can our commitment to His ways.

2. The Son's self-giving is the pattern of our self-giving

There are two rich young rulers in Mark 10. One who left Jesus sad, because he had great wealth, which had stolen his heart. The other one is Jesus Himself. He gave up His riches and rule as He took flesh and entered our humanity. He gave up the promise of His young life as He went to the Cross. He is the true man, whose greatness in sacrifice wins our salvation and patterns our discipleship. 'For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thought He was rich, yet for your sake His became poor, so that you, through His poverty, might become rich' (2 Corinthians 8.9). To be enriched by Him means to live enriching others (compare 2 Corinthians 6.10).

3. With God all things are possible

God the Holy Spirit unlocks greedy hearts, breaks sinful, slavish addictions, and opens grasping hands to make them generous. He gifts faith in the first place, to make us leave our worthless treasures and to come to Christ, the pearl of greatest price and beauty. God the Holy Spirit kindles the fire of sacrifice in our hearts. The same Spirit Who shows us how rich we are in Christ gives us the crowning joy we experience as we give away, safe in the knowledge that real life and wealth are safe in heaven.

So, trust Him. Trust God, as you follow what is sometimes His hard Providence. Trust the Spirit's promptings, to go without, get rid, give up and offer to others what we never needed in the first place, all to the honour of Christ. Then you will have treasure in Heaven.