E-Note 2/5: Our February Themes

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Over the next four weeks we will be emphasizing two major themes in our life together: the gospel of Christ and the church of the living God. To emphasize the first, we begin a new adult and teen Sunday School class this Sunday using Tim Keller's, The Prodigal God. This is a rich study (think fudge, creme brulee, and flourless chocolate cake) through the parable of the two brothers, popularly known as the parable of the prodigal son. My hope is that we will all hear the gospel afresh, not simply again - which is the fruit of repetition - but afresh, resulting in a renewal of love, joy, and peace, the very fruit of the Spirit. There is nothing more worthy in this life of your own "right thinking" (literally, "ortho-doxy") than the gospel of Christ. And there is nothing more widely targeted for perversion than the gospel of Christ. In his opening words to the Galatian church Paul writes: "Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." Note that this was happening within the church not outside it. Keller will make a strong case that the church must always be re-assessing its functional knowledge of the gospel because the church is often the first place the gospel is perverted and pushed aside. The first session (this Sunday) begins with a 25-minute video, so please try to be in your seat by 9:30am. The three sessions that follow will be 75% discussion and 25% teaching. So that is our first big theme for February.

Our second big theme is the church of the living God. This theme will help us get ready for the wonderful conference being prepared for us with Dr. David Powlison, coming March 6. In his first letter to Pastor Timothy the apostle Paul explains why he is writing: "Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth (3:14-15)" For the apostles our conduct in the Church is a reflection of our conduct with Christ himself. As we can see from Paul's words, none of us intuitively knows how to conduct ourselves in the Church. We must learn how to be the church and this learning is no different really than learning to love Jesus and learning to love what Jesus loves, his bride. Some of the major themes Dr. Powlison will be teaching on are: (1) What is God’s plan and purpose for the church? (2) How does the church function in the life of a member? (3) What does community look and feel like in the church? (4) What is the relationship between a local church and the universal church? (5) How are local churches and their members to relate to one another? These are the very questions that Jesus, the Head of the Church, charged his apostles and prophets to answer in the first century. Powlison will dust off the answers for the saints of the 21st century. To register for the conference or learn more go to the conference website at http://uvbc.wordpress.com.

It should be a warm month after all for the saints of God at TBC! Every blessing, John