Pastor’s Corner – Page 2 – Christ Alone Church

4th Sunday in Advent Meditation

Rom 15:5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. Among my Reformed buddies, I have some acquaintances who are of the “Christmas and Easter are pagan celebrations” crowd. These are pastors who actively refuse to acknowledge in their churches that these...

3rd Sunday in Advent Meditation

1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. When our Josh was 11 or 12, he used to joke about going all the way back in a time machine to when Adam and Eve roamed the earth. Once he was there he'd then jump out and yell, “Don't eat the fruit, I promise you, it doesn't go well!” Even at that age, Josh understood the devastating consequences of their future decision based on...

2nd Sunday in Advent Meditation

1 John 3:5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. As we continue our journey through Advent, it behooves us to keep our eye on the utterly destructive reason Christ needed to come into the world: our sin. Difficult as this may be to accept or address, to fully grasp the problem in our hearts is to ultimately find unbounded joy in the prospect of the Lord's arrival! Our fallen nature causes most people to underestimate the effects of sin on everything around us and in us. In the most extreme form, it...

1st Sunday in Advent Meditation

Heb 9:28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. My brothers and sisters in Christ, before we reflect next week on God's in-breaking love through His Son (Christmas! Yay!), I wanted us to ponder a bit on how to be ready for his promised return. Final exam time, y'all! Not to be overtly negative, but one would be blind if you have failed to see the steady moral degradation of our once mighty nation. This country, founded and initially bound together...

Thanksgiving Blessings

Psalm 136:1 (ESV) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. What have you experienced recently which brings you to your knees in gratitude before the Lord? How many of you have found that your daily routine (even in the weirdness of these times) is often a sprint to the next big family event or activity, and in the rush, you can miss that divine, providential hand constantly at work around us? The holidays are certainly moments where our gracious God draws us into heartwarming family gatherings, filled with laughter and more delicious...

Calling all Nursery help!

Psalm 127:3-4 ESV 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Book of Worship 3-2 G 4c 2) “Do you commit yourself to set a godly example before this child, to provide as far as you are able, all that is necessary to the end that this child may one day confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?” Solomon is...

A Class on Family Worship Ahead!

2 Timothy 3:15 ESV And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. I pray gentlemen 16 years and up in our congregation are looking forward to the class on Masculine Spiritual Leadership beginning on Wednesday, September 23 at 6pm. This will start the week after we end The Pilgrim's Progress Study. As I shared with you last month, please invite friends or classmates for this four-week journey into the scriptural duties men are called to participate in by our gracious God. But wait!...

August Column: Be Godly Men

1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. In the era of #metoo, promoting strong, masculine leadership seems like an act of aggression in our contemporary culture. Masculinity, in my opinion, has only become “toxic” as it has deviated from scriptural norms. This is precisely why the Lord promotes biblical manliness from the likes of Paul and others in holy scripture. The Bible is wonderfully clear in its distinction between the sexes, as it is concerning their roles they are to live into. To even state such truths today invites rabid attacks of...

July’s Newsletter Article: A Plea For Prayer!

Acts 1:14 ESV All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Acts 2:42 ESV And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Joel 1:14 ESV Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. In these three simple verses, it should be obvious that the act of corporate prayer is not only being regularly done by Christ's disciples,...

A June newsletter reflection

1 Cor 9:21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. It has been brought to my attention that as the body of Christ, we have disparate views on how we should treat worship in a corona-touched...