Jared Longshore, Author at Christ Church

Christ Church Exhortation – The Lord Comes, Beware Dark Corners

Jared Longshore on December 3, 2023

In the season of Advent, the Christian Church declares that the Lord comes. Beware dark corners. You have sat for long enough, moldy, putrid, wallowing in subterranean rivers of unseemliness. But your days are numbered. The King of Lights has appeared. He did so just outside of an obscure little town, in a sheep pasture, at night, when the dark was black enough that you could have seen the glory shining around those angels for miles.

We rejoice in the advent of our Lord, and it is most fitting to do so. But, we really should understand why so many have embodied the spirit of Mr. Grinch at a time like this. Stand with Herod for just a moment, Herod with his deep, dark precious lust for power, the one for which he was willing to kill many little baby boys; and hear him explain to you why it is no small problem that this new king has come. Stand with the chief priests and scribes shortly after they spoke with Herod, self-righteous with their long prayers and twisted traditions, and hear them out as they tell you of their troubled hearts.

When the Lord comes, He exposes the works of darkness. He reveals some very uncomfortable things. So two roads lie before you. Side with those who despise His coming, those who would rather stay in their soiled garments rather than have them changed, those who hated Him because He testified of their evil works (John 7:7). Or, side with those who say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” But that means He will open you up, He will find what remains of your former self, and He will clean you through and through. This sanitization process will be so thorough it will singe your eyebrows. But you are God’s covenant people so the only response is: Even so, Lord, quickly come.

Jared Longshore – December 3, 2023

Christ Church Exhortation – The Dirty Trough

Jared Longshore on November 26, 2023

One of the reasons we don’t do greater things for the Lord is because we are too afraid of dirt. You can’t get much of anything done in the world without making a mess. Anyone who has cooked a meal knows this. Anyone who has played a football game knows it, too. There will be pots to clean and counters to wipe in the first instance. In the second, there will be shoulders to pop back into sockets. This is simply how the world works. Proverbs 14:4 says, “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: But much increase is by the strength of the ox.”

We are to produce fruit. So don’t be disabled by the mud, the grime, or the trouble that comes while you’re farming. Sure, I can tell you how you can do less laundry. Don’t let your kids do anything. No sweating, no running, no eating of any kind; we can’t afford stains. But abundant crops come by the strength of those little oxen.

There are bumps to doing business: The deal gone bad, the troubled relationship, the stripped-out screw that you’re now going to have to rip out of the drywall, these are all production costs. See them for what they are and laugh at them. The man who can only see the dirty oxen trough is worse than near-sighted; he is blind. He’s doomed to servile fear and despair. But God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound mind.

One of the dirtiest jobs you’ll ever face up to is straightforward, unqualified confession of sin. Why in the world would you go looking for your own muck and then, when you find it, hold it up to the Lord with an apology? You do it because you see beyond this particular ox trough. Get it clean so you can stand up on the other side and produce greater fruit for the Lord.

Jared Longshore – November 26, 2023

Christ Church Exhortation – Give Thanks When They Hurl Accusations

Jared Longshore on November 19, 2023

Thanksgiving is just on the horizon, so we are counting our many blessings and marking a variety of things to be thankful for. As you number those blessings, I want to remind you of one particular kindness from the Lord for which you should be grateful. That is God’s kindness of having people say all sorts of evil things about you falsely. Ah, you have been slandered. And the bigger the slander, the bigger your Thanksgiving turkey should be.

Jesus tells us that we should be exceedingly glad when this kind of thing happens for our reward is great in heaven, and we are following in the footsteps of the faithful prophets who went before us (Matthew 5:12).

This is a lesson that peace-loving, kind, and faithful Christians like yourselves must take to heart. In the first place, it is one thing to remember this truth when the sun is shining and no one is calling you a misogynistic rape apologist. And it is another thing to remember it when those slander-bullets are actually flying. So store up this truth in your heart so it will be there in the day of battle.

In the second place, you must store up this truth in your heart because you are a kind lot of Christians who, of course, don’t want to be brawlers. That is good. You want to pray for those who have done you the wrong, and that is good, too. But, in case you may be tempted to say, “I just can’t rejoice and be glad given these horrible things that have been said about me or my people,” let me remind you that God is so pleased about people saying nasty false things about you that He has seen fit to increase your heavenly bank account. If God is happy, you should be, too.

Do ensure that this kind of thing doesn’t turn into rejoicing when your enemy falls. You want to give thanks in such a way that God’s favor will continue to rest upon you. But give thanks you must. And that thanksgiving should be exceedingly glad.

Jared Longshore – November 19, 2023

Living Sacrifices – CC Exhortation

Jared Longshore on November 7, 2023

One of the mistakes we make when it comes to our worship is thinking that it is merely an exercise in which we are refilled. We have spent ourselves for Christ and here we are on the day of rest to be repowered by the Spirit in worship. There is truth in the sentiment for “from him, through him, and to him are all things.” So there is a “from him” in worship.

But, Paul says that we “present our bodies as living sacrifices unto God.” And he adds that this is our reasonable service and worship. Worship, then, is a very active endeavor. You are presenting yourself to God, and you are doing so as a sacrifice.

The sacrifices of the Old Testament were quite passive. Their job was to be taken to the altar and killed. But, those sacrifices could never take away sin. Christ was the only sacrifice that could cancel sin entirely. And He was not taken to the slaughter by another but laid down His own life willing.

In the new covenant, we don’t need any more blood sacrifices, for Christ was the once for all time sacrifice who paid for our sin completely.

But, where does that leave us? Aren’t our bodies sacrifices as we worship God? Yes, indeed. But we are not sacrifices for sin. We are living sacrifices. And as we offer up our very selves to God it should be a lively endeavor.

So sing robustly. Pray fervently. Hear the Word attentively. Confess sin diligently. Receive assurance of your forgiveness gladly. Eat and drink at the table with a lively faith.

Be done with dead and dreary words, attitudes, and works. You are very much alive. So alive, you will never truly die. So alive, you can go sacrifice yourself on an altar and go right on living.

Jared Longshore – November 5, 2023

Endure Hardness – Exhortation – CC

Jared Longshore on October 23, 2023

Paul told Timothy that he must endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And this is an exhortation that we need to hear regularly.

It is far too easy for us to forget that we are at war. Scripture makes this point often. But it can still surprise us. The kingdom of God has not yet been consummated. So, we still live in the time of Christ’s advance and the world’s resistance. It is easy to forget this point when you live in such a blessed community. So don’t make the mistake that is often made by very good high school football teams. They crush the competition without much of a fight. And this is great for what it is worth, but good coaches start to get nervous. He knows that what the boys really need is to face an opponent who is taller, stronger, and faster than them.

Here’s the application. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that implementing the principles of Scripture in your life is going to be easy. “Ah, but we’re postmillennialists,” you say. Yes, and that is wonderful. But the advances we make in postmillennialism are much more like the advances we made in the D-day invasion than they are the advances one makes down a lazy river.

We are in a war. You are a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And that means you must endure hardship. You must suffer distress, pain, and loss.

But, as you endure hard things, remember that they are not pointless. You suffer as a soldier in the kingdom of God. And that kingdom is coming in power on earth as it is in heaven. As the Puritans would say, “The way down is the way up, to bear the cross is to wear the crown.”

Jared Longshore – October 22, 2023