Carl's Random Thoughts

Sunday’s Message was from Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus’ teaching on judgmentalism.

“. . . in the very first verse of this chapter we run up against one of the most misunderstood and, in my opinion intentionally misinterpreted, passages of the entire Bible: ‘Judge not, that you be not judged.’

“That sounds fairly simple doesn’t it? In reality, though, it is anything but simple. More than any other passage in the Bible, those seven little words have been used to spread confusion among Christians, and to dilute the witness of the church in this world where we are supposed to be: ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world.’” To Read More or To Print a Copy of the message, click here.

To Download an Audio File of the message, right-click here: Message 051312, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the Video of the Message:

Our Sunday Morning Class continued reading John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion.”

To Download an Audio File of the class, right-click here: Calvin 051312, select “Save Target as…”, then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the Class Video:

“The Christian’s Reasonable Service” is the name of the book that I referenced during the class. It is a 4 volume work of theology written by Wilhelmus a Brakel. First published in 1700 in the Netherlands, the work has recently been translated into English for the first time. Pastor a Brakel was a scholar who combined great learning with a compassionate heart. Almost every page is full of observations and applications that will enable you to search yourself and draw closer to the Lord.

Here is a link to volume 4, available free as a PDF download. The specific comments on temptations that I mentioned yesterday are found in sections 89-98 (pages 139-272). I encourage you to browse around as your interest leads you. It’s a pity that this classic was not translated and published in English long ago. We owe a debt of gratitude to editor Bartel Elshout, translator Joel R. Beeke, and the folks at Reformation Heritage Books for making it available.

Links to the entire 4 volume set are found at this web site: The Christian’s Reasonable Service.

Sunday’s Message was from Matthew 6:25-34 – “Jesus on Anxiety.”

“The anxious person may have placed his trust in Jesus, and yet he lies awake at night, worrying and fretting with his stomach tied in knots either because he does not have as much as he would like, or because he might lose what he already has.. Perhaps he has too many bills and too little money, or his job is hanging by a thread and he has a family to feed, or his future looks bleak because he is about to graduate from school and no one is hiring, or perhaps he suffers from some chronic sickness of body or spirit and sees no way out.

“Whatever his specific circumstance, the anxious person does not associate “joy” with faith because too much personal investment in the things of this world has born the fruit of anxiety, and anxiety has driven out everything else except worry. When it comes to anxiety, I suspect that most of us are a bit like Jesus’ stressed out disciple Martha, to whom he said: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. . . .” To Read the Message or Print a Copy, click here.

Here is the Video of the Message:

To Download an Audio File of the message, right-click here: Message 050612, select “Save Target As…” then save to your compuetr or MP3 device.

Here is the Video of the Calvin class:

To Download an Audio File of the class, right-click here: Calvin 050612, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Sunday’s Message was about Jesus’ teaching on priorities in Matthew 6: 19-24.

“’Worldliness’ is a spiritual problem that has to do with the priorities which govern our lives. Whether we think about it or not,  we all have priorities that determine how we will spend our time and our money and our energy. Those priorities reflect the inner orientation of the heart. When Jesus talks about “worldliness” he is talking about priorities that are not arranged in the order intended by God.” To Read More or Print a Copy of the message, click here.

To Download an Audio File of the message, right-click here: Message 042912, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the Video of the Message:

Our Sunday Morning Class continued discussing Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion.”

Here is the Video of the Class:

To Download an Audio File of the Class right-click here: Calvin 042912, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 Device.

Yesterday’s Message was from Matthew 6:16-18: Jesus’ teaching on Fasting. In the Sermon on the Mount, fasting is one of three tools that Jesus provides to help his disciples enter into deeper fellowship with his Father in heaven.

“most of us never practice fasting. Since we neglect this tool which Jesus has provided to us, the roots of our faith never become rooted as deeply as they could, and we miss out on the joy which God gives to those people who are willing to set aside something of themselves for His sake.

“It may come as a surprise to some of us that Jesus did not condemn fasting. In fact, in the Bible as a whole fasting is portrayed as a common and important part of the life of God’s people. Like the prophets of old, Jesus looked at fasting, along with prayer and giving to the poor, as a tool which can draw us into closer, deeper fellowship with God if it is done in the right spirit.” To Read More or to Print a Copy of the Message, click here.

To Download an Audio File of the Message, right-click here: Message 042212, select “Save Target as…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the Video of the Message:

Here is the John Calvin Class Video:

To Download an Audio File of the Class, right-click here: Calvin 042212, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the video of yesterday’s class. We began looking at Calvin’s discussion of the three uses of the Law.

To Download an Audio File of the class, right-click here: Calvin 041512, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Sunday’s  Message was from John’s account of the discovery of the open tomb on Easter morning. I did not video-record the message.

To Print or Read a Copy of the Message , click here.

To Listen to an Audio recording of the message, click here:

To Download an Audio Recording of the Message, right-click here: Message 040812, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

The Sunday Morning Class on Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion” will resume on the 22nd.

The Meditation Yesterday did not include a sermon. Instead, I read the account of Jesus’ last hours recorded in Mark 14:1-15:47.

Our Sunday Morning Class continued discussing John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion.” Again, we focused on the sovereignty of God in salvation. This raises problems for many people because it is contrary to their understanding of human “free will.” Once accepted, however, God’s sovereignty in salvation is enormously humbling and comforting.

To Download an Audio File of the class, right-click here: Calvin 040112, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the video:

The Sunday Morning Class did not meet yesterday so that class members could attend a presentation by missionaries from Papua, New Guinea who are supported by our church.

Sunday’s Message was about Jesus’ teaching on Prayer in Matthew 6:5-15.

“I suspect that for some of us, this business of prayer is one of the most difficult parts of the Christian life. Since God has reconciled us to Himself, something in us wants to reach out and connect with Him, the way we connect with a beloved friend or relative. But when we try to pray we all too often become tongue-tied, or our mind goes blank and we find that we have nothing to say, so we fall silent.

“If you feel that way, you are not alone. Luke tells us in his Gospel that prayer was not easy for the Apostles either, which is why they specifically asked Jesus: “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”  (Luke 11:1) The Apostles were all devout Jews who knew by heart the ritual prayers of Israel, but they felt the need for something more. They yearned to commune with God in a way that went deeper than formalism and memorization. So Jesus taught them, and us, a way to pray that both pleases God and strengthens our bond of love with Him. To Read More or To Print a Copy of the Meditation, click here.

To Download an Audio File of the meditation, right-click here: Message 032512, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 player.

Here is the Video:

The Sunday morning class talked about Sin and it’s effects on humanity.

To Download an Audio File of the class, right-click here: Calvin 031812, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the Class Video:

Sunday’s Message unpacked Jesus’ teaching about the proper way to give to the needy.

“How many of us ever stopped to think that in there is a right way and a wrong way to go about helping the needy? There is a form of giving which appears generous and godly but is in fact motivated by self-centeredness and the desire to win the reward of approval by other people. On the other hand, there is a way to respond to the needs of others that is motivated only by the heart-felt desire to honor and glorify God even if no one else ever notices. Both of these motivations may help the needy, but only one of them points people to God, and only one of them earns a reward from God.” To Read More or To Print a Copy, click here.

To Download an audio file of the message, right-click here: Message 031112, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the video of the message:

The Sunday Morning Class continued discussing John Calvin’s thoughts on Providence from his “Institutes of the Christian Religion”.

To Download an audio file of the class, right-click here: Calvin 031112, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the video of the class: