Free to Serve

Naked Truth

Matthias Media puts out a periodical called The Briefing. Matthias is an evangelical ministry based out of Australia. It is nice to read articles with an international flavor. A couple of years ago they put out an entire issue devoted to the topic of purity. Here is an excerpt from an article written by James Warren called, "The Naked Truth About Porn." Warren points out what we know but can too easily forget: pornography is destructive at every level!

Long-term, not only does pornography deaden attraction for one's partner, it deadens the ability to have healthy relationships in general. All people are increasingly objectified for what they can do sexually for the voyeur. Porn distorts all relationships, and prevents the growth of loving other-person-centered relationships.

Here are some resources on the topic that may be of help:

Especially for the married:

Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God by C. J. Mahaney

Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor

God on Sex: The Creator's Ideas about Love, Intimacy, and Marriage

For everyone:

Pure Sex by Tony Payne and Phillip Jensen

Not Even a Hint: Guarding Your Heart Against Lust by Joshua Harris

The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn

First Gathered, Then Scattered

If you haven't already, I hope that you will read the article that I wrote in this month's Perspective, "Starting the Christian Life: Don't Go It Alone." This is part of a series that I'm writing that is intended to be of special help to young Christians. In "Don't Go It Alone," I drive home the importance of active involvement in a local church. Here is a selection:

Sometimes someone will ask me at Mount Vernon, "How often do I need to be there?" I understand the question, I just don't think it is the right one. A better question is, "Why should I be there?" You should attend regularly for the sake of others. Here is what I tell new members coming into the fellowship of Mount Vernon: You should make it a point to come regularly on Sunday Morning--and if you are going to come to the main service, then why not come to the Shepherding Group [adult Sunday school] hour that precedes it? Sunday morning is that time of the week that we uniquely devote to God and to one another. Your presence will, Lord willing, be good for your own soul, but it will be good for the souls of those around you as well. In addition, I encourage every member to come to one evening service. This provides an opportunity to be encouraged in a small, more familial setting. My prayer is that whenever you attend, you won't come fundamentally asking what you can get out of a service, but who you can serve and encourage. This is love.

The last thing I want to be is the pastor of a church that comes, sits on its hands, and then goes home to watch television. I want to be a part of a church that is committed to giving, serving, and engaging this world in powerful ways. However, will we truly give ourselves over to reaching the lost if we are unable to give ourselves over to loving one another? One of the ways we show our love for one another is by gathering together regularly, faithfully, and actively on the Lord's Day. Only if we are committed to being the church gathered will be equipped to be the church scattered.

Starting the Christian Life

I recently found a great book to serve as an introduction to the Christian life. It is entitled Rock Solid, and I wrote a review of it here. It is largely a theological introduction to the Christian life but it does not neglect how these doctrines affect us on a daily basis. Recently, I've struggled to know what book to give to a new believer who has, perhaps, not been exposed to the basics of Christian living and is wondering what to do and how to live. Rock Solid is the best thing I've found, thus far. But if you have other suggestions, I would certainly welcome them.

Over the course of the next few months, I'd like to write a series of articles that cover how one should begin the Christian life. The following order makes sense to me, and I plan to flesh each one out in the monthly newsletter of Mount Vernon known as The Perspective. The basic approach is, "You've been converted! Now what?"

Here is a rough outline: 

(1) "Feeding Yourself." I've written this already and you can find it here in PDF. 

(2) "Don't Go It Alone." This will be on the necessity of community for Christian living.

(3) "Remember, It's All Sacred Now." This is to teach that as a Christian, all of your life is now under the umbrella of Christ's authority. 

(4) "Start Smashing Idols." This is on the necessity of identifying and turning from those things/thoughts/ideas that woo us away from worshiping the One, True God.

(5) "Say Something." We are to be a verbal witness. This article will try to condense how to begin thinking of yourself as an evangelist.

(6) "Don't Forget How You Got Here." This article will insist that you got to the Christian faith by embracing Christ's substitutionary atonement and you will persevere through all sorts of trials by remembering and applying the Cross to your daily life.

(7) "Keep Digging." It is not enough to read the Bible, we need to study with the goal of understanding God and his plan for our redemption. 

My prayer is that as we keep these seven ideas in the forefront of our minds, and practice them in our daily lives, we will understand better what it means to draw near to God. 

Preparing for Sunday

One of the best things we can do as God's church, as God's people, is prepare ourselves to hear God's Word preached. To think of Sunday morning not as a disruption in our schedule but as the climax of our week. What a joy it is to gather with God's people, to share in the glories of the Cross, to be transformed together by the Word of God. God has spoken. 

So how can we prepare? Let's start by crucifying sin. By examining our own hearts for signs of rebellion against God and putting it to death. Pastor Sinclair Ferguson in The Christian Life, put it this way: 

We must affirm in this context that crucifying sin is a central practical issue in Christian experience. This neglected area of truth must be recovered, and in our present culture must be taught to younger and older Christians alike. Undoubtedly one of the reasons some younger Christians make shipwreck of their faith is because they have never learned how to deal with indwelling sin, or, what is worse, have been encouraged to see it as an irrelevance. It is one of the signs of our morally-confused church life today that there is so much hesitation here. We have lost confidence in the clear commands of Scripture (158-59).

So, join me as we prepare for Sunday by taking time to examine our hearts and confess our sin before God. Pride, lust, envy, anger--it is all there. As we humble ourselves before God he will lift us up!

Bible Reading for Year

In When I Don't Desire God, pastor John Piper writes about the importance of having a regular schedule to encourage us to read the Bible:

So I say again, plan a place and a time when you will read the Bible and think about it each day. There can always be more times during the day. There should be. But let there be one sacred time and place. Put it on your calendar. Treat it the same way you would an appointment with a partner or friend. If someone asks you to do something during that time, say, "I'm sorry, I already have an appointment then." 

Here are two Bible reading plans that are very helpful. 

The first is a classic, The M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan. If you are at Mount Vernon, you can get copies at the church. This plan covers four chapters each day for the year. When you are done, you will have read the Psalms and New Testament twice and the Old Testament once. Very nice.

The second is The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan. This will take you through the entire Bible in a year. It schedules 25 days of the month. The remainder are a buffer. If you miss a day, you can catch up. If you don't miss a day, you can spend that time digging into something you wanted to spend some extra time studying.

The goal is to meditate, to stew in God's Word. It is not enough to read (as great as that is). We must soak in Scripture with the confidence that His Word is exactly what we need for life. Some days will seem dry -- because we are dry! Some days will be rich. The more you meditate the more days will be wonderfully rich.

Read on!