Lord's Day March 30, 2008

This Sunday I'll be preaching on Psalm 16 ("Pleasures Forevermore") at Park Hill Presbyterian Church at 11 a.m.  Our congregation will join with Providence OPC for worship at 5:30 p.m.

Infant baptism as polemic

More from Philip J. Lee:  "The final decision by the Church Fathers for the universal acceptance of infant baptism was a strong move against spiritual elitism.  The practice should have guaranteed that one brought to Christ in such fashion could take no credit for his or her election."

While we're at it

  In chapter 4 of Creation in Six Days, which in my not-so-humble opinion is by itself worth the price of the book, James B. Jordan argues that gnosticism is not an ordinary heresy, but a tendency to tranform "history into ideology and facts into philosophy."  The distressing prevalence of this gnostic tendency within confessional presbyterian circles is evidenced, again in my not-so-humble-opinion, by the way sermons which fail to preach Christ crucified, but do argue for predestination, are readily received as "reformed."

Gnosticism & elitism

  In Against the Protestant Gnostics, Philip Lee helpfully argues that gnosticism is better understood as a type or pattern than as a historic phenomenon.  That is, gnosticism is a way of thinking (namely, that one attains salvation through the acquisition of specialized knowledge) which has appeared in various guises and continues to manifest itself even within systems, such as Christianity, which are antithetical to it.  He also notes that gnosticism is, by definition, elitist;  only the select few can acquire the special knowledge.

  I wonder whether gnosticism is, or at least can be, consequent to elitism.  This would explain why certain personality types end up as self-described Calvinists.  These tend to view the doctrines of grace as specialized pieces of information which are known only to the few willing to study and understand them.  Ironically, grace (or rather, their knowledge about grace) becomes for them the marker which signifies their superiority to other Christians.

  In my opinion, those who think of themselves as reformed in their theology, and therefore superior, are less Calvinists than gnostics.

Sesquipedalianism

Every once in a while, I indulge in the fantasy of chucking it all to pursue a PhD in semiotics. But then I remember linguist Geoff Nunberg, who no doubt has already accomplished more in the field than I could ever hope to. Seriously, if linguists had fan clubs, I'd own his t-shirt.

On today's Fresh Air, Mr. Nunberg turns a reflection on the late William F. Buckley into a profound meditation on the payoffs and perils invited by the writer who indulges a love for sesquipedalian and little-known words (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88397125).

Check it out, and please let me know where I can get that t-shirt.

This means something

  

  Somehow, this sign is symptomatic of our post-modern age.

  I only wish I knew how.

On Easter

As answer 59 of our Shorter Catechism reminds us, each Sunday is a celebration of Christ’s resurrection: “From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath.” After all, this is the central, cardinal, and essential doctrine of our faith. “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14)
Not surprisingly, then, Easter was the first festival recognized by the Church; the rest of the liturgical calendar formed around it. During the second century A.D., Easter began to be celebrated on the Sunday following Passover. It is not a single day, but a 50-day festival (seven weeks) which culminates in Pentecost. Other feasts and seasons of the Church calendar were added to this foundational celebration, with Advent being last.
Jesus’ resurrection is the Father’s public vindication of his ministry. That is, it testifies to the world that everything Jesus claimed about himself during his earthly ministry was true, and his death accomplished the salvation of his people. It is also the basis of the Christian hope: our own resurrection from the dead on the last day, when sin and death are finally defeated.
Accordingly, Easter ought be a season of joyous celebration. In your personal and family worship, take time to list the things God has done for you and to meditate on all the benefits of the salvation you’ve received from Christ. (I suggest, for example, memorizing Shorter Catechism #32-38.) Come to worship services prepared to sing with loud and glad voices, and stick around afterward to encourage your fellow saints to rejoice in all God’s goodnesses to them through our resurrected Savior and Lord.
If we can come with resurrection joy to all the Lord’s Day services of this Easter season, we will be well on the way to learning how to come to Church each and every week. By making Sunday the first day of the week, the Church has proclaimed the centrality of Christ’s resurrection for the entirety of God’s creation. Thus, we as Christians can and must celebrate each Lord’s Day as an Easter Sunday.

Lord's Day March 9, 2008

This Sunday at Park Hill Presbyterian Church, I'll be preaching on John 11:20-27 ("The Resurrection & the Life") at 11 a.m., and on 1 John 5:1-5 as an explanation of the Westminster Shorter Catechism #39 ("His Commandments Are Not Burdensome") after the fellowship meal.

Broken Vows

  One unfortunate consequence of the divided character of American presbyterianism is presbyteries so geographically large as to make cooperation and mutual support practically impossible.  I am a member of the Presbytery of the Dakotas, which includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming (if the OPC had any congregations there), North and South Dakota, and the little slice of Iowa which contains G.I. Williamson.  Obviously, there is very little our congregation can do, besides prayer, to help a congregation in South Dakota, no matter how dire its particular straits.  I cannot help but conclude that this geographical dispersion not only weakens the Church as a whole, it cancels out the connectionalism which should be a hallmark of presbyterianism.

  On the other hand, this geographical dispersion has allowed me to get to know the aforementioned Mr. Williamson over the years, which has proved a great blessing to me.  A longtime pillar of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he is now more retired than he has been for some years, but still far from inactive.  He continues to be a great blessing to the Church, as is evidenced by his essay "Broken Vows" in the most recent edition of the online OPC journal Ordained Servant (http://www.opc.org/os9.html?article_id=93).  In his typically straightforward manner, he lays out the ethical implications of the way in which too many ministers in Presbyterian circles have conducted themselves during recent doctrinal controversies.  I pray our ordained officers will read and take to heart our father's admonition.

March 2, 2008: Services cancelled

I just noticed that I forgot to post my sermon texts for this Lord's Day, which turns out to be fortuitous.  Due to blizzard conditions in much of the Denver area, session has decided to cancel Sunday School and both services today, March 2, 2008.  So please pray and sing hymns and psalms at home.