Be angry and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your anger.

Ephesians 4:25

Anger is like a hot coal, straight from the fire. Your hands have not been made tough enough to hold it and not get burned. And so, you are commanded to let it go. You may not hold onto it even for a night. 

There are plenty of things in a sinful world that should make you angry. The world is broken, full of sin, pain and sorrow. People hurt other people, they hurt us. Wives disrespect husbands, husbands are unkind to their wives. Dad’s abandon their kids.  

In the Scripture we often see God’s righteous anger burn hot against the ungodly.

This anger is the right response when a perfectly Holy God meets wicked men. 

And we too should be angered by sin. But here is the key point. You are not God and you are not perfectly holy. Anger held in your hands will quickly turn to bitterness, wrath, clamor, evil speaking, and malice toward others. 

So, what must you do? Two things: First – do not sin in your anger. And second – let go of your anger today. Psalm 4, which Paul is quoting here says “Be angry and do not sin. Meditate within your hear on your bed, and be still”. When you are angered is the time you must use utmost self-control. This is not a time to debate with your wife, or discipline the kids, or send an email. No stop right where you are and be still. Sit on you bed and be quiet. 

Secondly, you must let it go. If someone has sinned against you, you must forgive them. If someone has sinned against someone else, then give that wrong to God. Trust Him that all things will be put right. If you refuse to do this, then you are ultimately directing your anger back at God. You are saying in your heart that God cannot make this good, that God’s plan is not right, and that you deserve to be angry at Him. This is the heart of all bitterness, and it is like dry rot in the foundation of your house. It must be pulled out all the way, every sliver of it, or else the house will fall.

Zach Browning – February 25, 2024

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As we have come to the first Sunday of Lent, I’d like to review our approach to the church calendar here at King’s Cross and why we do not have Ash Wednesday services or encourage corporate fasting during this season. We’ll begin with a story from the Reformation which illustrates pretty well how our forefathers in the faith approached Lent.

It’s the year 1522, and a group of prominent Christian men have gathered in Zurich, Switzerland, for a special brunch featuring home-cooked sausage prepared by the host’s wife. Now, it may sound odd to remember a meal 500 years later, except this really was a big deal, for this took place during the season of Lent, and the eating of meat was strictly prohibited by the church.

Over time these obligatory fasts took on an almost sacramental and salvific role in the church—meaning many sought to merit or earn salvation by their faithful and required observance.

And so this was not a mere brunch, but a bold act of reform, which led to the host’s arrest. In response, the reformer Ulrich Zwingli preached a famous sermon on the doctrine of Christian liberty, declaring that the church had no authority to require that which Scripture did not mandate and that Christians were no longer bound to the observance of seasons or food laws (Col. 2:16–17, Gal. 4:9–11).

He summarized his main point as this: “If you want to fast, do so, if you do not want to eat meat, do not eat it; but allow Christians a free choice in the matter.”

And so due in part to this recovered doctrine, the Reformed churches stripped away the obligatory penitential seasons like Lent and maintained a simplified church calendar consisting of Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost—edifying feast days all centered on celebrating the life of Christ. This then is the general Reformed practice that we follow here at King’s Cross Church. 

And so my exhortation this morning is this: Regardless of your Lenten practice, remember and rejoice in your liberty and freedom in Christ. Rejoicing in liberty means both eating all the sausage you want (or not)—but also sincerely blessing and honoring brothers and sisters who differ.

As the Apostle Paul wrote regarding holy days and food, “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom. 14). But let everything be done with a thankful heart unto the Lord.

Shawn Paterson – February 18, 2024

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There is a nefarious lust within us as humans. It’s a craving for uniqueness, originality, and innovation. This is seen clearly in how insistent modern man is on society’s unquestioned acceptance of every person’s supposedly unique identity. It also shows up the erasure of great men and women from history. We don’t want to be reminded of the glories of past generations because that would cast a shade on our lame livestream.

No matter how dearly we believe in our individuality and uniqueness, there’s a truth that haunts at every turn: absolutely everything you are and do is imitative. Peter tells us that we receive a “vain tradition” from our forefathers; a tradition of conformity to sin (1 Pt. 1:14,18). Solomon tells us there’s nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). Generations rise and fall, but they invariably follow each other’s footsteps of folly.

This craving for uniqueness is a race to escape the reality of our human nature. You were made to mirror God’s glory as a free creature of a Sovereign God. To despise this truth is to despise your humanity, and to succumb to beast-hood; descending into the thoughtlessness of a herd creature.

Every glory of art, science, literature, music, and mathematics accomplished by mankind is a borrowed glory. It is a grain of sand on the shore of the brilliance of God’s creative decrees. Our sub-creations borrow every molecule from the Mouth which spoke it into being. Our symphonies are mere echoes of the vibrations of the Spirit over the waters. Our inventions are more accurately described as unveilings of God’s infinite innovation.

So then, to be truly human is to be humble before the Triune God. Acknowledge Him as Lord over all, and so make and be and do in the light of His splendor. Content in Him we find true goodness.

It was pride which drug Lucifer from his height, and so too our first parents were deluded with the notion of partaking of “god-ness” without first humbling themselves before God. Our cultural obsession with being unique and standing out and being different are all irritating notes that are too flat or sharp; this song of our arrogance carries no melody and will abide no harmonies. May God forgive us for rejoicing in the dimness of our own light, when everything we are and have and do come from the light of His glory. May we be humble, that we might be raised up in the glory of our union with Jesus, the true image of the invisible God.

By humbling yourself before God, confessing your sins to Him, you do not lose yourself, instead you find glory. Scripture makes it plain that the path to glory comes first through humility before God.

Ben Zornes – February 18, 2024

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