Three Rivers Grace Community Church

For all who will be teaching classes in VBS, and for those assisting in various ways, and for all of us who will be praying for the children involved, consider this helpful essay by Jim Elliff on "Childhood Conversion." VBS is a great opportunity to proclaim the Good News to young people, but we must be careful not to push for "decisions" or to grant immediate assurance of salvation to children who have professed faith.

We should tell kids the truth about God, sin, Jesus Christ, and faith and repentance. Then we should simply wait and pray and watch to see what God does in their hearts. When a child professes faith in Christ, we should encourage them and continue to teach and instruct them. But we should not hastily assure them that they are saved, for that has the potential of doing great harm later in the child's life. He or she may not bear any genuine spiritual fruit but still look back to that prayer that was prayed in VBS as an assurance of sins forgiven and life everlasting.

Therefore, I commend Jim Elliff's response, which is applicable in the home and in the ministries of the church. He writes, "Our response to our child’s expressions that he is now converted should always be positive, encouraging and sincere. We should help the child see the basis upon which he can have assurance of new life rather than take it upon ourselves to offer him an immediate assurance not ours to give. Say something like this, “I’m thrilled that you are repenting and trusting in Christ. More than anything we want to know that God has really changed your life. The way we will know is if you continue repenting and trusting and if you act like a true Christian—that is, you have a new heart that loves to obey God. Sometimes we do not know that until we are in a place where it really costs us to be a Christian. Maybe you will not know it until you face the choice between your friends and Christ. Let’s see what God does. We’ll watch and pray about it. As questions come up, we’ll talk.”

You can read the article in its entirety here.

Our fighter verse for this week, as we're going through the Sermon on the Mount, is Matthew 5:31-32. This addresses a very sensitive issue which requires thoughtful and prayerful study of the Scriptures. I am attaching this paper from Bethlehem Baptist Church for your consideration. As you'll see in the paper, the leadership of BBC is not entirely agreed on the issue of remarriage after divorce. Some believe it is permissible in certain cases, others believe it is not permissible as long as the spouse is living. I encourage you to consider both positions. And if the issue of remarriage applies to you personally you should seek out the counsel of other believers and church leaders as you seek to discern the Lord's will for your life. The article from Bethlehem Baptist church is here.

When should a child who professes faith begin to partake in the Lord's Supper? Because of the severe warnings concerning eating and drinking in an unworthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27-32), it is important to consider whether a particular child is mature enough for the appropriate self-examination that is necessary in coming to the table.
Here is a helpful article that I encourage you to read, especially if you have young children.
It is an article by David Michael, one of the pastors at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Why Can't I Have a Snack Like Everyone Else?

Are you concerned about money these days? The economic news is mostly gloom and doom. But could it be that God will use these circumstances to wean us from our addiction to wealth and comfort? Could it be that God will release us from the grip of selfishness and greed and free us to give generously and joyously and sacrificially? I pray that it will be so.

As John Piper points out in a recent sermon on missions, the problem is not that we have insufficient funds to support missionaries, but rather we have become obsessed with our excess of money! He says, "No, it isn’t for lack of money that there are 1,568 peoples with no missionaries. It’s because we have so much. The comforts of the West have made us soft and cautious and fearful and indulgent and self-protecting, instead of tough and risk-taking and bold and self-controlled and self-sacrificing."

You can read or listen to the sermon here.

Like many of you, I was up late last night watching the election results. This morning, as I'm still trying to process the outcome of the election and what is happening in our country, I found the following article by Albert Mohler very helpful. I encourage you to read the article here.
Also, in light of our study in James 5, and the emphasis on prayer that we looked at last Sunday and will see again this Sunday, we should view the things going on around us as a motivation to pray with more fervor--for our country, and for our new president-elect.

Have you ever struggled with the curses of the Psalms? As part of our "fighter verse" plan, we've been memorizing many of the verses in Psalm 139. But verses 19-22 contain a plea that God would slay the wicked, and the verses speak of hating those who hate God. How are we to understand this?
Recently John Piper preached some sermons on the Psalms, and he dealt with imprecatory psalms in his exposition of Psalm 69. You can read or listen here.

Several women from our church (including my wife) attended the True Woman conference in Chicago last week. My wife has shared a lot with me since she got home, and it sounds like the conference was a tremendous time of worship, teaching, and fellowship. You can listen here.

On Sunday I preached on God-Centered evangelism. I encourage you to listen to (or read) this sermon on our website and consider how God wants to use you in your sphere of influence. It's so encouraging to know that God will be faithful to accomplish His purposes, and we have the great privilege of watching Him work!
I also want to direct you to a sermon by John Piper that has been very encouraging to me.
You can find it here.
It's also available in Spanish here.

Listen to the 2-part radio interview that was aired on Prime Time America.
Part I
Part II
The interviews are in the last half hour of each broadcast.

I like this comment that Chris made on another blog, in response to the "12 Sins" post.

"Amen to that, sin is like bad breathe, it's easy to think your own doesn't stink, but you can sure notice it in others."

Chris

http://chris-kratzer.blogspot.com