The second mark of a model church is it will give ample evidence of God’s election. The inspired Scripture reads, “knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice (or election) of you” (I Thess. 1:4).
The doctrine of divine election or God’s sovereignty in salvation might be new or confusing to some of my readers. Some have incorrectly viewed it as God’s choice of sinners based on the condition of their foreseen faith. Others have erroneously assumed that all individuals are elect but only some believe. Celebrated Danish painter and sculptor Peter Brandes said this about colors: “Blue, yellow and red – those are the letters. They’re like alpha and beta in the Bible: they are the beginning of everything. I could go on and make any language with those colors.”
In like manner, if we were painting a portrait of a model church, we should start with the three primary colors of faith, love, and hope according to Paul in I Thess. 1:3-10. What Happens When We Die?
Who am I? Where did I come from? What is my purpose for existence and where am I headed? These are the ultimate questions mankind has pondered for our entire history on this planet. Deep in our souls these questions reverberate into the night. Poets and pundits, sages and songwriters, gurus and grandmas all ponder these at some point. But how do we know what we know? Who or what is your final authority in answering these queries? What should you believe and how should you behave? Or is there even a standard? I have fallen in love … with First Thessalonians! I’m preaching through this letter for our church and thought you might also enjoy some of its riches. There is so much more here than I imagined! We begin today where Paul began, the topic of a model church. Are you in one?
Where Did We Come From?
Have you seen those commercials for Ancestry.com? For $99, you send these folks some of your saliva, they run your DNA and promise to send you back a breakdown of your ethnic mix! Analyzing more than 700,000 genetic markers, they can even find some distant cousins, if they too have joined their service. Their web site shows a guy who came back 52% Ireland, Wales, Scotland; 28% Scandinavia; 10% Italy, Greece and 10% Other. One lady on the TV commercial was somewhat overwhelmed to find out she was 24% Native American. She had no idea and apparently this completely changed her life. The ad shows her standing among Native American artifacts celebrating this new found knowledge. Why Do We Exist?
Why are you alive or what is your reason for being? Do you ever consider this? It’s important you do lest you waste your life. As we look around, there are no shortage of answers. Yet often the answer is more lived out than written down, more demonstrated than articulated. Four flawed answers seem to exist. Who Am I?
What tumultuous times we travel. Otherwise normal, law-abiding citizens become friends with fundamental Islamists and somehow become “radicalized” to the point they are willing to take lives of innocents and lose their own for the cause. The question is where and when, not if there will be another massacre. The threat of global terrorism is raising many hard-to- answer questions. The Protestant church landscape is comprised of various models or approaches, each with its own method of appealing to outsiders. While reading a blog from a respected pastor in Washington D.C., Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, I came across his analysis and have supplemented it with my own additions and observations. In each model you will find true believers committed to the Bible and trying their best to live out the faith. Yet, we are called to examine everything carefully. In critiquing any approach, I’m not questioning any one’s motive or salvation.
The Finale
We have reached the finale of our series on the Person of God. The end. The finish line. Terminus maximus. Three in One
Hear, O Kerrville! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! The Old Testament hammered over and over the truth that the true God is one essential being, of one essence. Judaism was founded upon monotheism, in the midst of runaway polytheism. For centuries, through the Law, the Prophets and the Writings, God’s people were told there is one Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer and Governor of the universe and all of these roles are found in the one true and living God who has revealed Himself to His people as I AM. “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (Isa. 45:5). |
AuthorUnless otherwise noted, all posts are written by Pastor Chris McKnight Archives
March 2024
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