Christ Church

Glorification by Grace (Christ Church)
Christ Church on March 18, 2026
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Romans

State of the Church 2025 (Christ Church)

Christ Church on

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 Rot of Ingratitude (Politics in the Pulpit #4) (CC Downtown)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

When things go wrong we tend to want to find out why. What was the cause? In looking at our nation we must grapple with how we have come to a place where God-honoring laws have been replaced by God-defying laws. Instead of our civil magistrates calling for humbling ourselves and commending us to fast and pray, they call for celebrations of debauchery and pride. As Christians, we need to understand the rot in the middle, and faithfully address it in our own hearts and homes.

THE TEXT

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:18-23

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In Paul’s introduction to his defense of the Gospel, he begins by asserting that God’s wrath is bearing down upon unrighteous men. The thing about truth is that you cannot be indifferent to it. There truth is right there in your hands, and you either treasure it or attempt to push it away. But where can you push it away where it won’t still haunt you? You can’t find a single place to hide from the blazing glory of the presence of the Living God (vv18-19). This is because the invisible God has revealed His nature through the creation of the world; the revelation includes two things: God’s power and His Godhead (v20). To put it another way, nature reveals His works and Himself. Creation reveals the power of its Creator.

This revelation of God unto man through creation leaves mankind with no hideout, no room for evasions or excuses (v20). They are without excuse because they knew God, and responded in two ways: they refused to glorify Him, and weren’t grateful to Him. Instead they opted to chase after impossibilities, and thus their dark hearts got darker (v21). This course led them to think themselves wise, yet in reality they became the poster-children of folly (v22). This was made evident by their worship of bird, beast, and sensual indulgence (vv23-24).

ENVY & DEBT

Our culture is saturated by a greasy rain of ingratitudes. Almost all of the government programs and spendings are founded upon the premise that we can rectify all varieties of inequities (both real or perceived) if we spend enough money on it. This has driven us to turn away from a sound understanding of wealth, to a system that is smoke and mirrors, wheels and widgets. Biblically speaking, wealth is the accumulation of the produce of diligent labor. Our fiscal policy operates on the principle that money printers go brrr. Largely, this is because we have built our current economy on debt instead of work.

Debt is not evil in all cases (Cf. Deu. 28:12). However, Scripture prohibits knowingly giving out loans to those who have no capacity to repay (Ex. 22:25). It warns that debt can lead to enslavement (Pro. 22:7). In fact, Jesus exhorts us to lend (Lk. 6:35), and there is an implication that any profit from such a loan should be gratefully passed along to the lender. But what it certainly does not commend whether private or publicly is a radical addiction to debt as the means of paying for everything. All debt is, in some sense, a fiddling with the future. Which of course can lead us away from faithful trust in God for our provision, and a faithless indulgence of all our current desires while punting the responsibility down the road.

Currently, our national debt is at $36 trillion, which equates to $104k per citizen. Much of this debt has resulted from spending on programs which are fueled by envy and ingratitude. One school outperforms another, and the government decides that rather than figuring out why this is the case, they opt to spend more on the underperforming school. More administrators and iPads will do the trick, right? This rot appears in how we fund our foreign policy, in LGBT ideology, climate change dogma, and in almost every program and department the government invents.

We don’t like our bodies, so we carve them up with government subsidies. We don’t like the mushy brains coming out of our schools, so we demand millions more in funding. We view the planet as a place to be survived instead of subdued, and so we insist on curtailing genuine wealth creation in order to stop climate disasters when it is wealth which has enabled us to actually better weather storms.

TIME AND DISCONTENT 

All of this grows out of discontented hearts. And discontent is a spiritual problem. Behind all the madness is a simple fact: we have denied the God who made us and failed to submit to Him in gratitude. If the church would faithfully battle all the madness in the midst of this season of political opportunity it will flow from grateful hearts.

This leads back to an important principle which our older brothers, the New England Puritans, were exemplars of. Standing on the shoulders of Calvin’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty over all things and near presence by the Spirit of Christ, they sought to live so as to redeem the time. God has given you that breath, so turn a profit on it. God gift-wrapped that heartbeat, so invest it in things that are true, good, and beautiful. God providentially handed you that tick of the second hand, do not throw it away. The Calvinist work ethic can be summarized: be thrifty, and work hard.

This disposition is a wonderful cure for the anxiety, envy, discontent, and ingratitude that drives so much of the political and cultural madness. You are here for a moment. You get a few trips around the sun. Your lifespan is about 8 or 9 decades. So give thanks and get to work. That is why faithful worship of the Living God is a battering ram against the gates of hell. Ingratitude leads to the vapor dreams of idolatry. It leads to chasing after sexual satisfaction where it can never be found. It leads to worshipping beasts, and becoming like the beasts. Whereas true service to God, expressed in grateful praise, leads to prosperity both in this life and the next.

A CULTURE WAR

So, the duty of the church remains unchanged. We are engaged in an all out culture war. Here is the fountainhead of culture: worship God. Prepare yourself each week to meet with the Living God here. From here, worship God in your home and workplace. Our nation has grown poor both fiscally and spiritually because of slack hands: He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich (Pro 10:4). Don’t let in fretting about evildoers. Don’t give way to the perversions of our culture. Don’t grow apathetic. Here is the Word of Christ. Here is Bread. Here is Wine. Receive these potent graces by faith, and then go bake and build. Teach and be taught. Plow and laugh. Give and receive gifts. You live in the Light of the Living God, so do not fear the darkness.

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Sin and Its Effects (CC Troy)

Lindsey Gardner on

SERMON TEXT

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23

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The Nature of True Discipline (Biblical Child Discipline in an Age of Therapeutic Goo #4)

Grace Sensing on

INTRODUCTION

The title of this series of messages refers to child discipline. We have come to the point where we need to define that word discipline. What do we mean by it? The English word is descended from the Latin disciplina, which refers to a course of instruction, learning, or knowledge. Discipline is necessarily teleological, meaning that it is directed toward a particular end, that end being graduation, or completion, or maturity. The discipline is both positive and negative. The positive would include being given the harder work of fourth grade, not as punishment, but rather as a reward for having done so well in third grade. The negative aspect would be getting held back from recess for having squirreled around too much during class. But both the negative and positive are aiming at the same goal. The positive inculcates, and the negative corrects. It is important not to confound discipline and punishment. Punishment simply has justice in view, while discipline has correction in view.  

THE TEXT

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11).

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:5–8; cf. Rom. 5:3-5).  

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Our two texts are related to the two aspects of discipline, negative and positive. This text from Ecclesiastes has the duties of the civil magistrate in view, but the principles involved in it are directly applicable to the management of the home. There are three principles. The sentence must be consistent, in that this verse is true all the time, and should be remember all the time. Second, it needs to be effective (it is a sentence). And last, it needs to be prompt—no delays or postponements. Without this approach, life in the home will tend to slide toward moral disorder. 

Peter describes growth in virtue, which is the point of all godly child rearing. Now Christian virtue has to be grounded on the bedrock of grace, meaning that virtue is no substitute for gospel. Jesus died and rose for the wretched, and virtue is a downstream effect of sanctification. But with that said, you start with faith, and supplement it with virtue (2 Pet. 1:5), and the next layer puts knowledge on top of that virtue (v. 5). When the knowledge has dried, add temperance (v. 6). The next two coats are patience and godliness (v. 6). But this is not the end of it. Put brotherly kindness on top of the godliness, and love on top of that (v. 7). 

THAT WORD TELEOLOGY

I used the word teleology a moment ago. This simply means that there is a point to the whole thing. It is directed toward a certain outcome. When we are not thinking like Christians, we are tempted to treat any suffering we encounter as being pointless. “How could there be a point when we don’t understand the point?”

The point is maturity, that being a maturity in Christ. We are exhorted to be mature in our understanding (1 Cor. 14:20). But we are living in the midst of a full-scale revolt against maturity, with the result that we have sought to infantilize an entire generation. We have in a great measure succeeded, and we see signs of this kind of arrested development everywhere. 

So the contrast between a Christian community bringing up boys and girls in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and the outside world should not be understood simply as one wanting to have “good little boys and girls” while the other group allows them to be naughty. The situation is not static. Everyone, like it or not, is growing up into something. You are either growing up into Christ, or you are growing up into Gollum—diseased, malicious, and infantile. 

A FATAL SUBSTITUTION

People do not just abandon the obvious good of maturity all at one go. Such a folly must be accomplished in stages. The early American ethos used to emphasize character—honesty (Prov. 20:10), a work ethic (Prov. 26:16), competence (Prov. 22:29). But by gradual stages, we have come to substitute personality instead of character—and we have various ways of talking about how we despise the results: all hat and no cattle, all foam and no beer, all sizzle and no steak. 

But in the last generation or so, we have managed to make the whole thing far worse. It used to be that the personality-monger, all teeth and handshakes, and a glossy prospectus, would at least do her thing to you in person. But now she can be an Instagram “influencer” run through three different filters, and with her real life as hollow as a jug.

Character is built in the difficulties. Character grows when you are out in the rain, picking up rocks. Personality grows (or thinks it does) when it is being flattered, stroked, cajoled, and otherwise lied to. So if you are not preparing your children to identify and fight all those lies that the world is dedicated to telling, you are simply preparing one more tasty morsel for the world to devour and digest. If you want your daughters to grow up to be mothers in Israel, then you should not be content when they are acting like they have just enough squirrel brains to download the next Taylor Swift song. If you want your sons to grow up to be valiant in battle, you had better not coddle them when they complain to mom about how math hurts their feelings.  

Adulthood is when you become what you have been becoming all along.     

BY WHAT STANDARD?

The task set before every Christian is to grow up into Christ. Christ is the standard. He is the standard for men and women, and for every boy and every girl. This is the path we must run; this is the only curriculum. Our covenant children are in second grade, and their parents are in junior high. The grandparents are in high school, and have started to think about graduation. But this is a school where all the upper grades are called to help out the lower grades. 

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:14–15). 

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