Christ Church

  • Our Church
  • Get Involved
  • Resources
  • Worship With Us
  • Give
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

In The Tombs (The Inescapable Story of Jesus #5) (CCD)

Grace Sensing on March 24, 2024

INTRODUCTION

Our experience shows that death, corruption, and uncleanness flow one direction. But Mark’s Gospel summons us to look at Jesus the Son of God and by faith see the glory of this Kingdom of Messiah.

THE TEXT

And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. […]

Mark 5:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Jesus has just shown Himself to be, as Yahweh in the flesh, the Captain of the Seas. He now marches on a fortified buttress of the enemy. Having crossed over the Sea of Galilee Jesus disembarks from the boat and is immediately met by a character straight out of a horror story (vv1-2). This man emerges from the graveyard with the broken chains which others had sought to subdue him, bleeding and scarred with wounds of self-mutilation, and was a sleep-deprived raving madman (vv3-5). Jesus’ pres- ence alone compels the spirit to drag the man unto Him and bow before Him; the spirit begs and pleads to not be tormented, for Jesus had commanded the spirit to come out of the man (vv6-8). Jesus asks the spirit for its name, and the haunting answer comes: My name is Legion: for we are many (v9).The spirits beg to not be sent into the out of the country (i.e. abyss) but into the nearby swine herd (vv10-12). Jesus gave them leave, and they enter the swine, driving this unclean herd of 2000 swine (likely intended for use by the Romans) into the sea which Jesus has established as being under His domain (v13).

The herders rush to the nearby town to report their losses, and the town-folk come out to see the re- markable sight of salted pork-jetsam (v14); but they discover a more remarkable sight when they see the demoniac clothed and sane (v15). Out of fear, Jesus is adjured by the town-folk to leave (v16-17), while the restored man pleads to go with Him (18). Jesus has other plans for the man and tasks him with publishing the tender-mercies of the Lord to a region in which a great number of Gentiles dwelt (vv19-20).

Jesus returns to His hometown (v21) and Jairus (the Synagogue Ruler), like the earlier Demoniacs, runs to Jesus and bows before Him (v22). He begs greatly for Jesus to come and lay hands on his dying daughter that she might live, and Jesus agrees to come to the aid (vv23-24).

Mark gives us a cliffhanger by seemingly interrupting the narrative with the story of a woman who had suffered from some sort of internal bleeding for twelve years (v25); we’re told all her attempts for res-

toration ended in greater misery (v26). She’d heard of Jesus and had repeatedly told herself that if only she could touch His gadilim (Cf. Dt. 22:12) she’d be well, so she sneaks up behind Jesus to carry out her plan. Straightway she feels the restorative power of God make her well (vv27-29). Jesus knew power had gone out from Him, and was certainly not ignorant of who had touched Him, but He asks anyway in order to spotlight the faith which the woman showed and with priestly authority confirms her clean- ness (vv30-34)

Mark then returns to the Jairus story, but with devastating news: the daughter has died. Jairus had hastened to Jesus to plead for his daughter’s healing, but as one commentator put it: “Death outran him and won the race.” The messengers say there is no need to trouble Jesus, but Jesus has come to be make trouble for death and tells Jairus to fear not (vv35-36). Coming to the house Jesus sends the paid mourners away, enters with three chosen witnesses, and brings the girl to life with the touching words: Talitha cumi (vv37-41). Straightway where there was death, Jesus brought life (vv42-43).

THE REJECTED MESSIAH

Jesus’ parable of the Sower should still be in our minds as we come to this battle with a garrison of demons. Jesus has bound the strong man, and the demons seem to be aware that the Jesus the Son of David is the Messiah and has authority to cast them out. But though He has recapitulated the Red Sea crossing and the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, that line from John’s prologue rings true: He came unto His own and His own did not receive Him ( Jn. 1:11). This episode foreshadows what is in store for Jesus: rejection.

The Lord drives out the unclean enemy of His people. And still they reject Jesus. They are the soil where the thorns and thistles of worldly cravings have choked out the Word of Life. Nevertheless, the foreshadowing isn’t done. The delivered man is commissioned by Jesus to tell of the great compassion which the Lord (Yahweh) had shown to him beginning with his own home/friends.The man presum- ably begins with his own home, but Mark foreshadows the Great Commission for the man declares Jesus in the entire Ten City region (Decapolis).

So then, when a people have rejected Jesus, it is no surprise that insanity, nakedness, raving, and stub- born greed seem to prevail. But don’t miss the picture Mark has painted. The Sower has sown His life-giving Word; He has claimed dominion over the raging sea; He has foreshadowed that demons will soon be cast into the abyss to no longer afflict mankind. Jesus reign is inescapable. This gives great hope in the midst of the current unraveling of our culture. Jesus will turn raving madmen into righteousness- robed apostles. Jesus will take self-mutilators and make them godly messengers. Jesus will take terrify- ing men and make them ministers of mercy.

THE RESURRECTION IS COMING

Mark couples the story of these two daughters. Taken together we get a clear message. The Lord Jesus is on His way to defeat all demonic powers and principalities in His crucifixion. But death and the un- cleanness of the grave will not cling to Him. He will not be suffered to see the corruption of the grave (Cf. Ps. 16:10).

The woman with internal bleeding was not only cut-off from temple worship/service, she spread un- cleanness (Lev. 15:25-27). Her physicians had not only not restored her, they’d worsened her condition.

But earlier in the story Jesus described Himself as a physician for the sick. Those who come to Jesusfind their misery stanched and their uncleanness reversed.

Mark insists that we see that Isaiah’s prophecy of the path’s being made straight for the coming rule of Yahweh is being accomplished in each act of this drama. Demons obey His summons. The scourge is relieved by His power. Death itself must give way to His life-feast. Mark is leaving us clues that death will not be Jesus’ end, nor those who lay hold of Jesus. Resurrection is around the corner. And that’s not all. Jairus’ daughter is raised from death and Jesus immediately commands a feast for her. See the pat- tern: death, resurrection, feasting.

WHERE JESUS COMES

Jesus goes into the graveyard and emerges with a new man. Jesus goes into the house of mourning and leaves a thanksgiving feast of life. Where Jesus comes the scourging pain is cast out. Sanity is restored. A suffering daughter is restored to fellowship. A devastated family is put back together. How? Because Jesus goes into tombs and comes out again. It’s what He does.

Read Full Article

A Postmillenial Primer #2 (Survey of Isaiah #21) (Troy)

Grace Sensing on March 24, 2024

THE TEXT

Isaiah 11 KJV

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2 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;

3 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:

4 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.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6 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.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

9 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.

10 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.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.

16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Read Full Article

Psalm 150: Crescendo and Conclusion

Grace Sensing on March 17, 2024

INTRODUCTION

This is a short psalm, but it is densely packed with hallelujahs. There are twelve of them here, and one hallelu-el. Together they praise Jah, the covenant God of Israel—Yahweh or Jehovah, and El, the great God Almighty. The longest stretch of words here between any two hallelujahs is four words, with all the rest of the bridges being two words. This conclusion to the Psalter is a great crescendo of praise.  

THE TEXT

“Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: Praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord” (Psalm 150). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We have yet another hallelujah psalm, concluding the psalter in a great crescendo. The psalm begins with hallelujah (v. 1), and it concludes with the same word (v. 6). At the very first, we should notice where Jehovah is to be praised in this way. We are to praise Him in the sanctuary first, and in the heavenlies also. Inside the sanctuary and far above the sanctuary—inside and outside. The second thing we do is praise Him for His great deeds down through history. We serve and praise the God of history. He created history in Genesis 1, and He called Abraham in that history, and He delivered Israel through the Red Sea in that history. He took out Sisera in that history, as Deborah sang. Praise Him for His mighty acts (v. 2). These acts of His proceed from His very nature and being, and so we also praise Him for His excellent greatness (v. 2). As the human voice is not strong enough to get the effect we need, we bring in various means of amplification—the trumpet, psaltery and harp (v. 3), with the timbrel, dance, stringed instruments, and organs (v. 4), with loud cymbals and with the high hat (or finger cymbals?) (v. 5). At the end of the psalm, we turn away from loud but inanimate instruments and turn again to the singers. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord (v. 6). Hallelujah.  

THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLE

As we look around at what we offer God in our weekly worship, we can recognize a number of the things mentioned in this psalm. We have singers. We have stringed instruments. We have brass. We have percussion. We have a psalter. Okay, you might be muttering, but where are the dancers? Some of you might be anticipating the point with gladness . . . dancers? Others might be quite worried about it, with furrowed brow. Nobody needs dancing Presbyterians. 

One of the principles that arose out of the Protestant Reformation came to be called the regulative principle, which states that if something is not commanded of us in worship, then it is prohibited. This, in distinction from the opposing principle, which is that if it is not prohibited, then it is allowed. “And nobody said that we couldn’t set up a statue of the Virgin Mary in the foyer.” Now I want to argue that all Reformed Christians must be regulativists of some stripe. We say this while rejecting the restrictions of what might be called the strict regulativists—their standard excludes far too much, even for them. They want to exclude any accompanying instruments because pianos aren’t in the New Testament, but they would also have exclude singing out loud—Paul says to sing and make melody in your heart (Eph. 5:19). We would also have to ban women from the Lord’s Supper, along with a number of other oddities and novelties.  

Now in this debate there is obviously an interpretive hermeneutical principle involved, because stringed instruments are in the Old Testament. So exactly how does God require certain worship practices of us, and what do we get to bring across from the Old Testament? And if we bring over the stringed instruments, then on what principle do we exclude the dancers? Obviously excluded would be animal sacrifices (as we see through the entire book of Hebrews) and things directly associated with animal sacrifices (burning altars and incense). Remember that the Temple was a slaughterhouse, and the incense dealt with the smell.   

TABERNACLE, TEMPLE, STREETS, SYNAGOGUES, CHURCHES

Remember that this is a psalm of cosmic praise. It begins with praise in the sanctuary, but it extends to praise outside the sanctuary—praise Him in the firmament of His power (v. 1). The appropriateness of what you are doing depends upon where you are, along with the nature of your culture. There is no indication of any musical instruments in the Mosaic tabernacle. The Tabernacle of David was dedicated to music, and there were various instruments everywhere (1 Chron. 25:1-8). We know that the Temple of Jesus’ day did have a great organ. David danced before the Lord in a religious procession that was not contained within any sacred space (2 Sam. 6:14), and remember that Miriam led the women of Israel to dance beside the sea (Ex. 15). Some of you have gotten close to that spirit at some of our block parties. Synagogues had the shofar (trumpet), but apparently not as a means of accompaniment.

Now the institution of the Christian church brings together elements of all of these—the Temple, the synagogues, but I think centrally the Tabernacle of David. The prophet Amos prophesied the Gentile church under the figure of that tabernacle (Amos 9:11), and at the Jerusalem Council, the Lord’s brother James applied this prophesy to the inclusion of the Gentiles: “After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up” (Acts 15:16). And here we are. “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

So is dancing excluded then? Not in principle, although other principles must always be remembered. “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). In cultures where dancing is woven into everything, there is obviously an easy way to incorporate it into worship fittingly. But even in a place like west Africa, say in Anglican worship, the worshipers dance their way to church, and away from it, but not in the service—although there is still a lot of moving in place. And don’t leave out processionals, whether of a choir, or elders serving the Supper.   

PRAISE HIM

But let us return to the theme of true praise. The great acts of Jehovah are not glorified through pious muttering. We need to be loud about it. “Sing unto him a new song; Play skilfully with a loud noise” (Psalm 33:3). “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise” (Psalm 98:4). We engage with the enemy of our souls through this potent weapon of praise. All evangelism is recruiting for the choir. Our choir members are in the regular army, and all the congregational singing is conducted by the militia. But everyone is in the choir somehow. So praise Him.

Read Full Article

A Postmillenial Primer (Survey of Isaiah #20) (Troy)

Grace Sensing on March 17, 2024

THE TEXT

Isaiah 11 KJV

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2 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;

3 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:

4 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.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6 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.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

9 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.

10 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.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.

16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Read Full Article

Psalm 149: Songs of Triumph

Grace Sensing on March 10, 2024

INTRODUCTION

In Scripture, praise and true authority always go hand in hand. This is because it is faith that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), and praise always overflows from the confidence of true faith. Evangelical faith sings at the dinner table, sings behind the wheel, sings at the workbench, sings while going to war, and sings in the assembly of the saints. You are the choir militant, and you have been given a new song indeed. Who is given that new song but the elect of God, the 144,000 (Rev. 14:3)?  

THE TEXT

“Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory: Let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: This honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord” (Psalm 149). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This is yet another hallelujah psalm. It begins with this word (v. 1), and ends with it also (v. 9). Remember our two pieces of bread. The new song is sung before the Lord, and this new song is sung by new men (v. 1). And this is forever because the new birth is the kind of thing that never ages. This is a corporate duty and a corporate pleasure—His praise in the congregation of saints (v. 1). Israel needs to rejoice in the one who made her (v. 2), and the children of Zion must be joyful in their king (v. 2). Praise Him with dance, and praise Him with timbrel and harp (v. 3). The Lord Jehovah does not just put up with this; He takes pleasure in His people (v. 4). He adorns the meek with salvation. He beautifies them (v. 4). Having been thus beautified, the saints are to rejoice in glory (v. 5), and sing aloud on their beds (or couches). They are to sing while at rest, but also to sing while they are going to war (v. 6). The high praises of God should be in their mouth and a double-bladed sword in hand (v. 6). To do what? To execute vengeance on the heathen (v. 7) and punishment on the people (v. 7). In addition, this militant choir binds their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron (v. 8). They are ministers of God’s judgment, and all His saints have this honor (v. 9). And we conclude with another hallelujah (v. 9).  

TIMBREL AND HARP

The timbrel is a small hand drum, or tambourine-like instrument. It is in the percussion family, and Miriam and the women of Israel used it when they danced on the shores of the Red Sea. “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances” (Exodus 15:20). The harp here was not like our modern harp, but was likely closer to a lyre, or even a guitar. Josephus tells us it had ten strings (see Ps. 144:9) and was played with a plectrum (or pick). 

REJOICING IN GLORY

We are not fit or worthy to praise the Lord in our own strength or in our own name. In order for us to walk in a manner that is worthy of God (Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:12), we must be made worthy. It is all of grace. It is the same with our praise. In order for our praise to be beautiful enough to offer up to God, God must beautify it first. And He does this by beautifying us. In salvation, God justifies His people, declaring them to be perfect. He beautifies them with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and in that glorious imputation of the purest righteousness, the end result is that we are equipped to rejoice in glory, and to sing everywhere and in everything.

God has made us in such a way as that we must seek glory. We cannot help seeking glory—it is something that we simply must do. This impulse is not eradicated by the fall, or by the presence of sin. What sin does is distort what we find to be glorious. For the unconverted, they must either seek out dark glory (as satanists and sodomites do), or the must seek out vain glory (as the impotently religious do). When Christians seeking to be faithful come along and react to this by abnegating all forms of glory. But this is Buddhism, or Stoicism, not Christian faith.

What is sin but a failure to pursue glory properly? “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). 

“Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile” (Romans 2:6–10). 

Those who want to be saved should be in pursuit of what God tells us salvation consists of. It consists of the beauty of the Lord, the glory of God, and the golden weight of the Spirit’s presence. You cannot pursue salvation without pursuing Him, and He is glorious. 

NEW COVENANT WEAPONS

One of the differences between the old covenant and the new has to do with the weaponry. There are still wars and police actions in the time of the new covenant, but this is not how the kingdom is supposed to advance. 

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:3–6). 

At the same time, the advance of the kingdom does result in tumults, riots, protests, slanders, and more. Just read casually through the book of Acts. But our weapons are mighty, and we reveal that we know that they are mighty when they are wielded by Christians who are singing. As Spurgeon put it, “even the tumult of our holy war is part of the music of our lives.” Let the jangling and clashing in the background serve as an interesting form of percussion.

Read Full Article

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • …
  • 109
  • Next Page »
  • Worship With Us
  • Our Staff & Leadership
  • Our Mission
  • Our Distinctives
  • Our Constitution
  • Our Book of Worship, Faith, & Practice
  • Our Philosophy of Missions
Sermons
Events
Worship With Us
Get Involved

Our Church

  • Worship With Us
  • Our Staff & Leadership
  • Our Mission
  • Our Distinctives

Ministries

  • Center For Biblical Counseling
  • Collegiate Reformed Fellowship
  • International Student Fellowship
  • Ladies Outreach
  • Mercy Ministry
  • Bakwé Mission
  • Huguenot Heritage
  • Grace Agenda
  • Greyfriars Hall
  • New Saint Andrews College

Resources

  • Sermons
  • Bible Reading Challenge
  • Blog
  • Music Library
  • Weekly Bulletins
  • Hymn of the Month
  • Letter from Elders Regarding Relocating

Get Involved

  • Membership
  • Parish Discipleship Groups
  • Christ Church Downtown
  • Church Community Builder

Contact Us:

403 S Jackson St
Moscow, ID 83843
208-882-2034
office@christkirk.com
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

© Copyright Christ Church 2025. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Framework · WordPress