John Frame to Speak at New Hope PCA (Monroeville)
October 24, 2008
From our sister church, New Hope (PCA) in Monroeville:
An Evening with John Frame
November 8, 2008
7:00 PM
Dr. Frame is a Pittsburgh native and long time friend of Covenant Church. His wife, Mary is the daughter of Covenant’s founding pastor, Calvin Cummings. He holds the J.D. Trimble Chair of Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando. He is a preeminent scholar and theologian, a prolific writer, and an accomplished pianist.
We are honored to welcome John and Mary to our celebration on Saturday, November 8. Dr. Frame will share insights into Reformed Theology and its continuing relevance in our world and will also be the first to play our new grand piano as part of our celebration.
Please do not miss this opportunity to share with us the love that God has lavished upon our congregation as we strive to become a single family of believers unified in our love for each other and for the Lord.
A Communion Poem
October 24, 2008
While reading Philip Ryken’s book, City on a Hill, I came across the following poem by Mark Noll. The poem tangibly captures our desperate need for God’s grace, and it reminds us how that grace is manifest to us at the Lord’s Table. As always, I’m anxious for the feast that will be set for Sunday morning.
Note – Scots’ form is a method of communion in which people come forward to tables in the front of the sanctuary to receive the sacrament.
Scot’s form in the suburbs
by Mark A. Noll
The sedenatary Presbyterians
awoke, arose, and filed to tables spread
with white, to humble bits that showed how God
almighty had decided to embrace
humanity, and why these clean, well-fed,
well-dressed suburbanites might need his grace.
The pious cruel, the petty gossipers
and callous climbers on the make, the wives
with icy tongues and husbands with their hearts
of stone, the ones who battle drink and do
not always win, the power lawyers mute
before this awful bar of mercy, boys
uncertain of themselves and girls not sure
of where they fit, the poor and rich hemmed in
alike by cash, physicians waiting to
be healed, two women side by side – the one
with unrequited longing for a child,
the other terrified by signs within
of life, the saintly weary weary in
pursuit of good, the academics (soft
and cossetted) who posture over words,
the travelers coming home from chasing wealth
or power or wantonness, the mothers
choked by dual duties, parents nearly crushed
by children died or children lost, and some
with cancer-ridden bodies, some with spikes
of pain in chest or back or knee or mind
or heart. They come, O Christ, they come
to you.
They came, they sat, they listened to the words,
“for you my body broken.” Then they ate
and turned away – the spent unspent, the dead
recalled, a hint of color on the psychic
cheek – from tables groaning under weight
of tiny cups and little crumbs of bread.
The ESV Study Bible
October 23, 2008
The much anticipated ESV Study Bible has arrived (see introductory video below). From my own perusal through it, it seems it will be a tremendously helpful resource for anyone interested in serious study of God’s Word.
Although not explicitly “Reformed” (such as Ligonier Ministries’ The Reformation Study Bible), it will fit well on the shelf of any Reformed believer as it affirms a covenantal understanding of Scripture and the sovereignty of God over all things, including the salvation of men.
For example, the notes on Ephesians 1:4 say:
He chose us in him means that the Father chose Christians in the Son (Christ), and this took place in eternity past, before the foundation of the world. This indicates that for all eternity the Father has had the role of leading and directing among the persons of the Trinity, even though Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in deity and attributes. God’s initiative in redeeming the believer from sin and death was not an arbitrary or whimsical decision but something God had planned all along “in Christ.” Since God chose his people in his love, they can take no credit for their salvation. God was determined to have them as his own.
You’ll find a solid covenantal perspective in the introductory article, Overview of the Bible: A Survey of the History of Salvation, written by Vern S. Poythress.
One other note on the Bible – it’s big. Really big. Almost 3,000 pages.
This bible will be a tremendous resource for all Christians and I heartily recommend it.
“What god is Great Like Our God?” – Trembling in Fear and in Joy Before the Lord
October 21, 2008
One of the Scripture passages I’ve been working on memorizing recently is Psalm 77:13-14 in which the question is asked, “What god is great like our God?” This question is answered by the Psalmist as he goes on to describe the greatness of the Lord. One reason given why God is great – because even the waters are afraid of him and the deep trembles upon sight of him (Ps. 77:16).
I have to admit, whenever I have an opportunity to stand at the ocean’s edge I’m always struck by it’s raw power. Even the smallest of the ocean’s waves is strong enough to carry me helplessly along, and the largest of its waves can bring absolute devastation. The ocean is mighty and is rightly to be feared, but even “the deep” is not so mighty that it does not tremble before God.
If nothing else, the knowledge that even the ocean trembles before God causes me to tremble all the more before him, both in fear because his way is holy (Ps. 77:13) and in joy because in his might he has redeemed his people (Ps. 77:15). What God is great like our God?
Martin Luther on Two-Kingdoms
October 17, 2008
Good stuff from this month’s Modern Reformation magazine:
God has ordained the two governments: the spiritual, which by the Holy Spirit under Christ makes Christians and pious people; and the secular, which restrains the unchristian and wicked so that they are obligated to keep the peace outwardly…. The laws of worldly government extend no farther than to life and property and what is external upon earth. For over the soul God can and will let no one rule but himself. Therefore, where temporal power presumes to prescribe laws for the soul, it encroaches upon God’s government and only misleads and destroys souls. We desire to make this so clear that every one shall grasp it, and that the princes and bishops may see what fools they are when they seek to coerce the people with their laws and commandments into believing one thing or another.
Martin Luther
Paul’s Prayers in a Picture
October 16, 2008
Thanks to wordle.net, I was able to make a nifty picture of Paul’s prayers as found in his writings. Wordle takes the most frequently repeated words and makes those the largest. The less frequently a word appears, the smaller its size in the picture.
Although good exegesis this does not make, it is helpful to a limited degree.
Obviously, “Christ” is the largest, and thus most frequently repeated word in Paul’s prayers. Paul pray’s to God through Christ (Romans 1:8); he urges others to pray by Christ (Romans 15:30); he exults God in his prayers because he is “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:17); he exults Christ above all (Ephesians 1:20-21); he prays that Christ may dwell within his readers (Ephesians 3:17); he prays for strength to comprehend and know the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:18-19); he identifies Christ as an outlet for God’s glory (Ephesians 3:20-21); he acknowledges the coming “day of Christ” (Philippians 1:6) and he prays that the church would find itself “pure and blameless” when that day of Christ comes (Philippians 1:10); he “yearns” for God’s people with the same affection as Christ (Philippians 1:8); he acknowledges that the “fruit of righteousness” comes through Christ (Philippians 1:11); he acknowledges that the “peace of God” comes through Christ (Philippians 4:7); he gives thanks to God because of other believer’s faith in Christ (Colossians 1:3); he prays for open doors to declare the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3-4); he acknowledges that grace comes from Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:12); and he acknowledges that every good thing that is within us is for “the sake of Christ” (Philemon 1:6).
May our prayers be just as Christ-exulting as Paul’s.
(The Wordle picture was created using the following Scripture passages from the ESV: Rom. 1:8-10; Rom. 8:26-27; Rom. 15:30-32; 2 Cor. 1:11; 2 Cor. 13:7-9; Eph. 1:15-21; Eph. 3:14-21; Eph. 6:17-20; Phil. 1:3-11; Phil. 4:6-7; Col. 1:3-12; Col. 4:3-4; Col. 4:12; 2 Thes. 1:11-12; 2 Thes. 3:1-2; 1 Tim. 2:1-2; 1 Tim. 4:4-5; Phil. 1:4-6).
(You can see a larger, easier to read picture by clicking on the image above.
Lord, Teach Us to Pray
October 9, 2008
We’ve come to Luke 11:1-4 in our AM sermon series. In light of the disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray,” we’re going to pause here for the next 5 Sundays and consider some of the biblical models of prayer that reflect the main petitions in the prayer model Jesus gives to his disciples.
October 12 -Lord, Teach Us to Pray
- This Sunday we’ll consider some of Jesus’ general teachings on prayer found in Luke 11:1-13 and in other places of Scripture.
October 19 – Father, Hallowed Be Your Name
- On this Sunday we’ll look at David’s great prayer of 2 Samuel 7:18-29. There God has just established his covenant with David and promised to make his name great, but now David prays that God’s name would be great. As “hallowed” means “to be set apart as holy,” David makes this clear in his prayer saying, “You are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you…” (2 Sam. 7:22).
October 26 – Your Kingdom Come
- Here we’ll consider Solomon’s prayer and the events of 2 Chronicles 6:41-7:3. This is the great high point in Israel’s history. The temple is completed, the ark of the covenant is brought into the Most Holy Place, and Solomon prays for God to “arise… and go to your resting place” (2 Chron. 6:41). God answers this prayer in a resounding way, establishing his throne and presence in Jerusalem’s temple with fire and glory, in essence bringing his kingly reign to earth. This passage has profound implications for how we ought to pray for God’s kingdom to come today.
November 2 – Missions Week
- We’ll take a break this week as Derek Bates, RUF minister at the University of Pittsburgh, preaches for our Missions Week.
November 9 – Give Us Each Day Our Daily Bread
- On this Sunday we’ll consider the simple statement that Jesus gave thanks as he broke bread and gave it to his disciples during his last meal with them (Luke 22:19). Through that thanksgiving prayer Jesus acknowledged God’s provision of our daily needs in the form of physical bread, but obviously there was something more to this prayer, for Jesus himself is the “bread of life” and he was about to be broken.
November 16 – Forgive Us Our Sins, For We Ourselves Forgive Everyone Who Is Indebted to Us
- In Ezra 9:1-10:5 the prophet, appalled at the great sin of God’s people, tears his garment, pulls the hair from his head, and falls on his knees in repentance before the Lord. Ezra’s firm grasp of the atrocious nature of their sin fuels his prayer and he admits to God, “I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you” (9:6). Ezra’s prayer reminds us of the atrocious nature of our own sin and thankfully, the merciful nature of our God.
November 23 – Lead Us Not Into Temptation
- This is a petition of sanctification asking God to lead us away from temptation so that we may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. In light of this petition we’ll examine Paul’s prayer of sanctification for the Colossian church (Colossians 1:9-10) as he longs to see them forsake sin and become a people “fully pleasing to [the Lord].”
