Christ Church

Herald of the Kingdom (CC Downtown)

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MATTHEW 3

1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

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State of the Church 2025 (CC Downtown)

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INTRODUCTION

Many passages of Scripture require us to have a sort of double vision. The problems of heresies and schisms arise when one group sees the text one way, while another group sees it another way. Meanwhile, when viewed with the right sort of double vision both aspects fit together perfectly with no contradiction or violence to the distinctions between them. Our task is to receive such texts humbly with both hands.

THE TEXT

That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD. (Psa 144:12-15 KJV)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This Psalm is a prayer for deliverance from enemies (vv1-11). There are echoes of the prayers found in several prior Psalms. The second part, which we are considering, is the reason David gives to God for why the Lord should grant a gracious deliverance. Why should God condescend and consider man (v3)? The reason David gives to the Lord for why God should answer this prayer is so that the sons of Israel might become stately cedars, and the daughters of Israel may become ornate pillars of a stable civilization (v12). Additionally, David reasons with God that this deliverance from “strange children” will allow Israel to enjoy barns full of grain and grapes, innumerable herds (v13), strong oxen for next year’s sowing and harvesting (v14a), and streets that are quiet and undisturbed by warfare (v14b).

David concludes his argument with God by prevailing upon the Most High to consider the happiness of those whose God is Yahweh. David echos Moses’ blessings upon Israel at the end of Deuteronomy: Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places (Deu 33:29 KJV). God delivered His people in order to bestow upon them everlasting happiness by covenant fellowship. David points at the surrounding enemies and then invites God to consider His covenant promises, calling upon God to establish the joy of His people.

SONS, DAUGHTERS, AND WEALTH

We should see this picture with double vision and both are good. Some might take this to be David being too consumed with temporal and earthly blessings of children, crops, and herds. Someone might snark that David seems to have made his family, material comfort, and happiness an idol. Others try to scrub these verses with lysol wipes of etherealism: David means metaphorical flocks and is envisioning the flock of the NT church. Still others see the promise of full barns, and get dollar signs in their eyes and conclude that earthly wealth is the top floor of the joy elevator. But both the prosperity Gospel swindler, and the thinly sliced pietist miss what is going on here.

The promise of sons that are strong as oak trees, daughters ornate as palace pillars, and flocks as numerous as the sand no the seashore is not an automatic blessing. This blessing is downstream from blessing God. David blesses God, David sings a new song to the Lord (vv1, 9-10). The legacy of healthy offspring and earthly prosperity is not automatic. But it is promised by God, and our response should be one of true faith. But here is where the double vision is needed. The reasons David gave God for delivering Israel was so that Israel could have robust sons and daughters and earthly wealth; but if you look at it rightly you can see that everything in David’s list is, in part, what is necessary to maintain the sacrificial worship of the tabernacle.

The prophet Joel portrays the inversion of these covenantal blessings, and explicitly highlights that the devastation of the locust army had consequences when it came to continuing the sacrifices which God had commanded (Joe 1:8-10 KJV). David then sees children and earthly wealth as the means whereby worship of the living God might be carried on to all generations. He is not the short-sighted hedonist, nor is he the severe exegete. David summons us to consider that sons and daughters and material blessings are the means whereby God’s kingdom is continually built up and prospered and advanced.

OUR GROWING BODY

We have been worshipping together as a distinct service for two and half years. Our aim should be that as this congregation grows, as a microcosm of the broader Moscow growth, we must get the order right. Bless God first and foremost in order for your vineyard to be well-laden with fruit. But don’t stop there. The fruit of children and the fruit of your labors are not ends in themselves, they are the continuation of God’s promise to fill the world, from one side to the other, with worshippers.

We have many young families. Our vision for what God is doing here at CCD must be that these sons will soon be running the institutions the previous generation established, these daughters will soon be raising their own brood, all your wealth will soon be handed down to your heirs. The question is, will they be steadfast in the worship of the living God? Will they love the standard? Will they be more courageous and bold than you? Will they treasure God’s Word as great spoil?

Our prayer for deliverance from enemies of woke policies, globalist tyranny, deluded sexual ethics, and vain fiscal measures must always be aimed at the intention that we and our children might worship God in all peace and quietness. But deliverance from evil is never a permission slip to longer naps, lazier work ethic, gentle parenting, or hazy Bible reading practices.

TEMPORAL AND ETERNAL HAPPINESS

All this demands three things. Do not let off the gas when it comes to teaching your family to walk in the ways of the Lord, and filling your home with joyful songs of praise, the truthful words of sincere confession, and the rejection of mindless worldly entertainment. Secondly, work hard. David’s request to God to spare Israel from the destruction of invading armies is so that next year Israel can get to work again on another season of plowing, sowing, watering and harvesting. Do not avoid hard work, find another gear, and do so for the reasons described in this Psalm: supplying the needs for the mission of God’s covenant promises to a thousand generations.

Lastly, blessing God and being made happy by God are the brackets of this Psalm. This is true living. Bless God. Receive His blessings with true faith and gladness in order to bless Him once more. But don’t fall into the trap of viewing the temporal and eternal as enemies. You are raising children who will either live forever in the bliss of heaven, or forever damned due to unbelief. You are working to bring glorious treasures into the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:24). This is because if the Lord is your God, happiness is both your present and everlasting reality.

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In the Place of Moses (Acts of the Apostles #15) (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION

One of the hallmarks of worldliness is when the curators of museums subvert the legacies of the men they are ostensibly honoring. The Lord Jesus referred to this common pattern when He said that the men who build memorials to deceased prophets are the descendants of the men who murdered the prophets. As the stage is set for the martyrdom of Stephen, we see the very same dynamics in play.

THE TEXT

“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts 6: 8-15).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Along with six other men, Stephen had been elected and ordained as a deacon. But he was given more in his ordination than perhaps was anticipated. Full of faith and power, he began to do wonders and miracles, and all out in public (v. 8). This brought about a verbal confrontation between Stephen and certain men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (v. 9). These men were from various places around the empire Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. In modern parlance, they were from Libya, Egypt, and various places in Turkey. In this confrontation, they were unable to deal with Stephen’s wisdom or spirit as he spoke (v. 10). Rather than give up, they then secretly induced some other men to lie about Stephen, testifying that they had heard him blaspheming both Moses and God (v. 11). With that lie started, they then stirred up the people, elders, and scribes, and then came upon Stephen, arresting him, and bringing him to the council (v. 12). They had false witnesses prepared beforehand here as well, who said that Stephen never stopped blaspheming the Temple and the law (v. 13). They reported that Stephen had said that Jesus was going to destroy the Temple, and that the customs delivered by Moses would be changed (v. 14). But when the members of the council looked at him, they saw that his face was radiant, like that of an angel (v. 15).    

DISCIPLES OF MOSES WHO WEREN’T 

In their back and forth with the man born blind, the Pharisees had this to say. “We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:29). But how had Moses established his authority in Israel initially? God gave him power to work wonders (Ex. 4:1-5). But what had Stephen been doing at the beginning of our passage? Great wonders.

But there is more. When Moses came down off the mountain, having met with God, his face was radiant and shining (Ex. 34:29-30). And when the council here looked at Stephen, just before his defense, they saw that his face was radiant, like the face of an angel (v. 15).

In short, the defenders of the ways of Moses had a Moses return to them, and he began to minister in their midst. And so what did they do? They arrested him, in the name of Moses, and put him on trial for blaspheming Moses.

BLASPHEMY CHARGES 

One of the great contemporary topics is that of Christian nationalism. And one of the first objections that is raised is brought up on the basis of a fear that Christian nationalists would start arresting freethinkers in order to charge them with blasphemy—as though our biggest concern would be the village atheist who puts out a newsletter with a circulation of 153.

But one of the central goals of any true-hearted Christian nationalism would be to radically reduce the power of the state? And why? Because in Scripture you deal with beams and poles before you deal with specks and floaters (Matt. 7:3). In Scripture, the greatest threat when it comes to blasphemy is found in the ruling authorities. The beast from the sea had the name of blasphemy on its head (Rev. 13:1) The great Harlot was full of the names of blasphemy (Rev. 17:3). When Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor, he would force believers to blaspheme (Acts 26:11). The rich men who control the courts blaspheme the name (James 2:7).

Not only do they blaspheme, but they do so while charging faithful believers with blasphemy. Never forget that the Lord Jesus was convicted on a blasphemy charge (Matt. 26:65). And here, in Acts 6, this same terrible travesty is happening over again. Convicted of blasphemy by blasphemers.

When we have ensured that this can no longer happen, then would the time to worry about the village atheist.

THE INFLUENCE OF STEPHEN ON SAUL

We know more about Saul of Tarsus than we think we do. First, his hometown of Tarsus was located in Cilicia. Note that this was one of the regions mentioned when the Synagogue of the Freedmen was being described. Second, we are introduced to Saul by name for the very first time when he was watching the cloaks of those who were stoning Stephen (Acts 7:58). In Jewish law, those who testified in a capital case were required to participate in the execution. But the men throwing stones in this case had been suborned by the synagogue men who had lost their debates with Stephen. These synagogue men were the agents of this judicial murder, and one of them was clearly Saul. He consented to the death (Acts 8:1).

But we know from all our available information that Saul was a zealous man, and a world class intellect, far surpassing other men of his generation (Gal. 1:14). We also know that he was insolent, conceited, and proud, as he acknowledged later (1 Tim. 1:12-13). Now how do you think such a man would react to losing a debate with a Christian soup kitchen guy? Not well, we can pretty much guarantee. But someone with such a mind would also know that having a man set up and murdered is not the same thing as answering him. So after the execution of Stephen, when Saul erupts in a rage (Acts 8:3), we know that internally he is wound tight. That was his condition, exhaling threats and murder (Acts 9:1) on the Damascus road. This was just before the Lord appeared to him, and humanly speaking, it was all thanks to Stephen.

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State of the Church 2025 (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION

There is a sense in which we are living in quite an unusual circumstance, in quite an odd set-up. In many ways, our church community has never had it so good. We are a growing, industrious lot, grateful for the blessing of God, and the general disposition of our community is in fact quite a cheerful one. At the same time, and in the same community, there are hardships, difficulties, and significant afflictions. Some are coping with widowhood. Some have severe medical challenges. Others have to deal with the fact of having been wronged, or treated roughly, by a brother in the faith. Still others are managing the long-term challenges of elder care.

Think of a woman who lost her son in the waning days of World War 2 . . . and then three days later Germany surrendered, and her entire city erupts in joy. There is a real difference between misery spread across everyone, as in a time of famine or flood or other disaster, on the one hand, and individual affliction in a time of prosperity on the other.

I bring this topic up because many of us have been in this position, and I anticipate more and more of us will need to navigate this reality as well. And so long as it continues, this will need to be done individually . . . for the most part.    

THE TEXT

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:18-19).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In order to deal with this peculiar sort of affliction, we need to remind ourselves of the scriptural emphasis when it comes to any sort of affliction. Paul calls these afflictions “the sufferings of this present time” (v. 18). In talking about this, he gives us his own personal calculation when he says, “for I reckon.” He says that there is a glory coming, a glory that is going to be revealed “in us,” and when he sets that glory alongside our present sufferings, his conclusion is that they were not even worth setting alongside one another. The afflictions are in us now, and the glory will be in us then, and the former will be completely swallowed up by the latter. He then addresses how that future reality is to be a comfort to us now. That will happen—that day when our sufferings cannot be compared to our glory—when the sons of God are manifested. In context, this is talking about the day of resurrection, the day when our identity in the risen Christ is made fully apparent to the world. The comfort comes in the fact that this hope before us is something that we wait for with an “earnest expectation” (v. 19). Having that hope before us as an earnest expectation gives us something to hang onto in the time of our distress. “There will come a time when I won’t even be able to remember this.”

THE NATURE OF THIS SORT OF AFFLICTION 

Those who are in the midst of this kind of suffering need to recognize a few things about it and need to take good care to guard their hearts against maudlin self-pity or resentment. Remember that in the very nature of pain, it will be isolated and lonesome.

• A big part of this is found in the nature of the case, and there is no need to find fault with others. While it is true that “no one else knows what this is like,” it is also true that they are not supposed to. God did not assign this to them.

• As God offers comfort in the midst of the trial, do not clutch at it like a drowning swimmer. Take on the comfort gratefully, as a diligent student, and put it in your notebook. “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Cor. 1:3–4). You are not just being comforted, you are being trained.

• You are living in the school of hard gratitude. Now this gratitude in the midst of affliction is not a happy happy joy joy sort of thing, not at all. What did Jesus do when He picked up the bread that represented His body, and He took it in His own hands and tore it. What was He doing at that moment? He was giving thanks (Luke 22:19). This is why we are instructed to give thanks in all things (1 Thess. 5:18), and for all things (Eph. 5:20). This is a hard-headed gratitude, not a hard-hearted and sullen ingratitude.

• Just as there is a sense in which the affliction is yours alone, so also is the wisdom and the sanctification and the blessing that comes from it. You alone know the plague of your own heart, correct? “What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house . . .” (1 Kings 8:38). This means that you alone can know how God ministered to you there.

HELP FROM THE OUTSIDE

Having urged those who are going through this sort of trial to learn how to bear their own burden (Gal. 6:5), it is now time to remind everyone else to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). This is not either/or, but rather both/and, and it is the part of wisdom to know and understand when and how this is to be done.

• Look for ways to provide practical help—meal trains, school pick-ups, financial support, or child care. The chances are  pretty good that you are far more eloquent with your hands than you are will your words.

• Job’s friends did well, at least initially. For the first week, they were silent. Where words are many, sin is not absent (Prov. 10:19). Be genuinely wary about volunteering that you “know what it’s like.” You probably don’t, and even if you do, they probably already know that.

• You are there to provide sympathy, which is not at all the same thing as untethered empathy. There have been many comforters who have been little more than well-cushioned stumbling blocks.

• Don’t overpromise and then underdeliver. “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25:19).

ESCHATOLOGICAL ORIENTATION

And so we return to our text. All of us who are Christians are anchored in and with the same hope. We share that one hope, and we share it all the time. Our current afflictions are not worth comparing to the realization of that hope. But at the same time, these afflictions, which will dwindle to nothing at that day, are certainly weighty enough for us now. They are plenty heavy in the moment. And so remember, these are afflictions with feet. They work through the body at different rates of speed. They do not happen to all of us, all at once. They come, first to one, and then to another. When they come to us, it is to remind us of our hope—who is Christ. When they come to our brother, it is to remind us of our hope—who is Christ.

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The Wise Men & the Nations (Advent #4) (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION

This part of the Christmas story is not a stand-alone story. In the narrative, we find a type of how all the rulers of this world will eventually come to kiss the Son.

THE TEXT

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. . . When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped

him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way” (Matt. 2:1-3, 9-12).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, certain wise men from the east appeared in Jerusalem (v. 1), and they were looking for Him (v. 2). The one they were looking for was King of the Jews because they had seen His star in the east, and intended to worship Him (v. 2). Herod heard about this and he was troubled, along with all Jerusalem (v. 3). After Herod gets some information from his rabbis, he deceitfully sends the wise men on their way. After they left Herod’s presence, the star they had seen back home led them to the right house in Bethlehem (v. 9). Seeing the star gave them great joy (v. 10). They came to the house (not the stable) where they saw the young Jesus along with Mary, His

mother (v. 11). From the age of the boys murdered by Herod, we can infer that the wise men arrived sometime within two years of Christ’s birth. They fell down and worshiped Him, and presented their famous and costly gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh. We don’t know for a fact there were three wise men, this being simply an inference from these three gifts. God warned the wise men in a dream, and so they went home by another route (v. 12).

WE THREE KINGS

Now these men are not described as kings, but there are good reasons for treating them as members of the ruling aristocracy, as men who could decide to just go visit a king. First, in the Old Testament, this kind of person was frequently found at court (magi, wise men). Second, these men were dignitaries of sufficient rank to have their questions attract the attention of a king, and to be summoned to his court. Third, their gifts to the young Christ were kingly gifts—the kind of gift that kings would receive from princes. Fourth, the text draws attention to a comparison between their eagerness to worship Christ, and Herod’s false willingness to do so. Fifth, not only did God want the reader of Matthew to know that a king was born in Bethlehem, God wanted Herod to know that a king had been born there. And He wanted him to know it on the kind of authority that he would accept.

FORESHADOWING 

So what is this story doing here? The clear intent is to show us that Christ is a king, and He is the kind of king who receives legitimate worship from nobles. This is a proleptic story, meaning that it is prophetic. If the toddler Jesus receives this kind of honor, what will He receive later? He receives hostility at the beginning (from Herod) and He receives prostrate worship from Gentile noblemen at the beginning. This is an a fortiori situation, and so which one will win out?

HONOR AND GLORY

Paul says that God wants all kinds of men to saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). This “all kinds of” includes kings and those in authority (1 Tim. 2:2). In this matter, Paul practiced what he preached. It was part of his original commission. When God was reassuring Ananias about going to see Paul, God said, “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Notice the inclusion of “and kings.” Whenever he had opportunity to present the gospel to kings and rulers, he would do so (Acts 26:28). Kings are told to kiss the Son, lest He be angry (Ps. 2:12). While we are to fear both God and the king (Prov. 24:21), the king is supposed to fear God particularly (Dt. 17:18).

But sin being what it is, this is not something that kings like to do. The gospel being as powerful as it is, however, means that the kings of the earth will in fact come. They all will bring their honor and glory into the Church (Rev. 21:24, 26). They do become nursing fathers to the Church (Is. 49:23), submitting themselves to the Church, and being discipled by the Church. That phrase “nursing fathers” can be misleading, making us think the Church is somehow subordinate to the State—which is actually the opposite of what the passage says. In the restoration of Israel’s fortunes that is the Church, what does it say?

“And kings shall be thy nursing fathers [lit. nourishers], and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” The leaves on the tree of life are for the healing of the nations, and they cannot be applied without the nations actually getting better (Rev. 22:2).

TRIBUTE AND AUTHORITY

There are two ways to give. One is an act of authority and the other is an act of submission. There are also two ways to receive—and not surprisingly, one is an act of authority and the other is an act of submission. Telling the two of them apart is perfectly clear for the humble, and opaque to the proud. Were the wise men placing Jesus and Mary in their debt with these very expensive gifts? Or were they showing their indebtedness? When our federal government today cuts a check, are they seeking to exercise authority or showing submission? This is not a hard question.

So this story right at the beginning of Christ’s life shows us the pattern that we should expect and require. Christ will not receive (and His Church must not think about receiving) any largesse whatever from the state unless it is accompanied by their prior prostration before Christ and true worship of Him. And to test the sincerity of it all, we should probably give it a minute. Like 500 years or so.

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