Christ Church

Lessons from Joseph (Advent #3) (CC Troy)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION- THE PROMISED SEED

As foretold, the promised seed did not come without conflict. Throughout redemptive history, Satan has tried to thwart God’s plan through violent means. We see this when Pharaoh orders all of the Hebrew baby boys to be slaughtered on the birthstool. Centuries later, Haman the Agagite sought not only to destroy Mordecai but to annihilate all Jews, jeopardizing the Messianic line again. The same tactic is tried a third time by Herod the Great, when he implemented the massacre of the innocents, a command to kill all the male children two years old and under. Yet in each case, God’s providence ensured the survival of the seed, as evidenced in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew begins, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” He sections off the generations into three groups of fourteen. The list of names is not merely informational; it is a testimony to Jesus’s candidacy for Messiahship. Not only can he be traced back to Abraham, the first Jew, but also to King David, fulfilling God’s covenant, that his throne would be established forever. Jeremiah 23 prophesies about this righteous branch of David, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

I. THE CHRISTIAN’S RESPONSE TO BEING WRONGED 

The context of the passage is a woman wronging her betrothed. The engagement period, known as the “erusin” or “kiddushin” was a formal and legally binding commitment. In our culture, an engagement can simply be called off, but in the jewish culture, a formal divorce process was required. Only death or a decision on the part of the groom’s father could dissolve the arrangement. The betrothal period lasted a year and the couple was to be regarded as married in a legal sense even though they did not live together. The bride continued to live in her father’s house, while the groom spent the year on a construction project. He would build an addition onto his father’s house, preparing a home for his bride. Once the father signed off on the work, then he gave permission to the son to go and retrieve his bride.

Before the ceremony, there were a few contractual elements that needed to be in place. First, the Ketubah was drawn up, which means “formal courtship.” The groom would give the bride a valuable object, usually a ring and the bride price would be paid. By the first century this usually was a symbolic gesture and not a large sum of money.

II. THE REWARD FOR FAITHFULNESS

God saw his servant Joseph in turmoil. He knew that he loved Mary and God was pleased to see Joseph behaving with self-control despite his suffering. Because of this faithfulness, the Lord sends Joseph a reward: a reassuring, informative dream. Mary did not cheat on him and the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. What a relief that must’ve been.

In that moment, Joseph’s anguish turned to clarity, and his faith was strengthened. God was in control. I wonder how many gifts from God we forfeit because of our unbelief. One of the constant refrains we hear from Jesus in the gospels is, One of the constant refrains we hear from Jesus in the Gospels is, “O you of little faith,” “Why did you doubt?” and, “Unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?” God is looking even for the tiniest amount of faith. The disciples said to Jesus, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” It’s as if the Father is seated at the edge of his throne with a treasury of encouragements, eagerly awaiting the next display of faith that he might reaffirm that believer. The Lord saw the heart of Joseph and was delighted to encourage him in faith by sending the angel in a dream.

III. WHEN GOD COMMANDS, WE ARE TO OBEY

God places Christians into a cycle, and this cycle is the chief method God uses to sanctify us. The Christian has faith, that faith is reinforced by God, the Christian obeys, the Christian is tested, which is another opportunity to exercise faith and the cycle repeats. Central to this is the concept of obedience. The Lord told Joseph, “Take your pregnant fiance and marry her,” and he did. He said, “Flee to Egypt,” and he went. He said, “Go back to Israel,” and he returned. He said, “Settle in Nazareth,” and he obeyed.

Mary was tested too. How did she act when Joseph said, “I had another dream. I know you just had a baby, but we have to escape to Egypt”? Did she respond in faith? Was she submissive? Mary doesn’t get enough credit for how tough and rugged she was. We forget that when she traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, she was probably 8 months pregnant. She walks 90 miles, gives birth to Jesus then has to turn around and walk another 300 miles after having just given birth. To put it in perspective, that’s like walking from here to Seattle. It was a huge test of faith. The text doesn’t tell us, but their stay in Egypt could’ve lasted years. And if that’s the case, Joseph must’ve had some means of providing for the family. Maybe he started a carpentry business. Maybe Mary started making friends with other moms. And right when they’re starting to feel settled, Joseph says, “Mary, we have to go back to Israel.”

CONCLUSION- THE SHIFT

In closing, let’s review Luke chapter 2:41-52. This is the last time we see Joseph in the gospel narrative. He is mentioned in other places, but this is the last place that he shows up as a character in the story. Jesus was now 12 years old and he’s going up to Jerusalem with the family for the feast of Passover. Joseph had faithfully protected, guided, and provided for Jesus. And he raised him in the traditions of the law. Yet this passage reveals a shift. The caravan for home starts to leave, but Jesus stayed behind unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph. Once they realize that Jesus is not with them, they rush back to Jerusalem and search for 3 days. Finally, they find him in the temple, amazing everyone with his knowledge of the law. Mary says, “Why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Read Full Article

State of the Church 2025 (CC Downtown)

Christ Church on

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.

Read Full Article

What is a Mediator (Advent #4) (CC Downtown)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Last week we saw that the very fact of creation is indicative that the world is covenantal and that covenant is, by nature, a gracious one. God made the world with no external obligation, but He obligated Himself to it. Due to Adam’s sin, something dreadful took place. The marriage of heaven and earth was broken. How would God reconcile Himself to man, and man with the creation he had brought down into a ruinous curse? God wrote the code upon which this world was to run, sin introduced a corrupted file that if left to run on its own would disable the entire system. Christmas is the entrance of God Himself into the story, and His purpose was nothing other than to take the curse upon Himself, and restore the whole system.

THE TEXT

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.    ~Isaiah 11:1-10

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Isaiah foresaw the restoration of all things, and speaks of the new creation in terms of the resurrection of David’s kingdom. A Righteous Branch would sprout from the stump of Jesse (v1). The Lord’s Spirit would rest upon this Branch, endowing Him with all that is needful for righteous rule over the earth (vv2-3). His rule shall raise up the poor and meek, while dashing the wicked to bits (v4). His regal robes will be righteousness, and faithfulness will be the sword at His side (v5).

His rule will not be confined, but will have application in all directions. Beasts will be tamed and do violence to one another no more; furthermore, man will no longer be in an adversarial relationship with the beasts (vv6-8). The curse shall be so entirely reversed that even serpents, once counted as wretched for their association with Satan, will be the play thing of infants. Destruction and death, sorrow and sighing, war and wasting will be ended; the dark years shall fade, and in its place the bright and warm light of the knowledge of Lord shall fill the entire earth, as waters cover the sea (v9). This Mediator, springing from the massacred stump of Jesse, would rule in such a way that not Israel only, but even the Gentiles would clamor to rest under the victory banner of His kingdom (v10).

FOUR THINGS NEEDFUL

As we reflect on who could fulfill such a task, it is important that we ascertain what is required of this mediator. The mediator of such a covenant between God and man must have four attributes. He must be a man (Gen. 3:15). However, he must also be a righteous man (Ps. 24:3-4). Further, he must be true God (Is. 9:6). Fourth, he must be both God and man (Is. 7:14).

In order to crush the serpents head, it was required that He be a true man. Since it was human nature “in which the disobedience had been committed” the Son assumed our nature “in order to bear in it the punishment of sin by his most bitter passion and death (BCF Art. 20).”  But in order for Him to please the covenant law of creation He must be holy, righteous, without flaw. He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf.

But as the Belgic Confession so wonderfully puts it, His divinity never ceased to be in Him: “So then, what he committed to his Father when he died was a real human spirit which left his body. But meanwhile, his divine nature remained united with his human nature even when he was lying in the grave; and his deity never ceased to be in him, just as it was in him when he was a little child, though for a while it did not so reveal itself. These are the reasons why we confess him to be true God and truly human—true God in order to conquer death by his power, and truly human that he might die for us in the weakness of his flesh (BCF Art. 19).”

Furthermore, in order to accomplish our redemption, and to satisfy God’s righteous requirements, the Mediator must be have these four attributes. Additionally, in His role as the Mediator of this covenant of grace, He would fulfill that mediatorial role in a number of ways; here is how the WCF describes it: “It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest, and King, the Head and Savior of His Church, the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world; unto whom He did from all eternity give a people, to be His seed, and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified (WCF Ch. VIII, Sec. 1).” Notice that the doctrine of Christ as our Mediator, and all the glorious attributes of that role, leads to what theologians call the ordo salutis. The person of Christ is inextricably tied to the redemption of His people.

WHAT THE MEDIATOR BRINGS TOGETHER

Returning to our text we see that the “one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5),” brings about a restoration in all directions. Between God and man. Between heaven and earth. Between man and beast (Hos. 2:8-12). Between man and man. To quote one theologian, “No realm can be withheld from Christ’s reign. The covenant is a total treaty.”

He does so by becoming the curse for us, and being righteous for us, for judging sin, and receiving sin’s judgement, by dying for us, raising human nature out of the dust and breathing His everlasting Spirit into us. He truly holds all things together. And it is not sappy sentimentalism to say that the reason He did all this was because of His great love wherewith He loved us: “So God made known his justice toward his Son, who was charged with our sin, and he poured out his goodness and mercy on us, who are guilty and worthy of damnation, giving to us his Son to die, by a most perfect love, and raising him to life for our justification, in order that by him we might have immortality and eternal life (BGC Art 20).”

NEW CREATION

The nativity of Christ Jesus really is the beginning of the New Creation. In His mediatorial office He not only reconciles us to God, but He renews and remakes all things. So it is fitting to bring trees into our homes, ornamented with symbolic fruit, surrounded by gifts made of plastic and pearls, wool and wood. It is right to spread a great feast, inviting as many people as will fit around the rearranged living room furniture. Christ Jesus ushered in a new creation in Himself. He is the nexus of history. He is the new man. He is the true God and our eternal life. He is the ladder which bridges the glory of heaven with the bounty of earth. He is our Mediator which rules over this world with everlasting truth and grace. Indeed, joy to the world, for the Branch of Jesse has come.

Read Full Article

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.

Read Full Article