New City Catechism

Our call to worship this Sunday was Romans 14:7-8 (NIV)
For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

It’s the verse that goes with the first question of the New City Catechism (www.newcitycatechism.com). The New Year is a time to initiate new resolutions, efforts, & commitments. There are a number of new things PCC is initiating this year; none I am more excited about than introducing the New City Catechism. It’s not a program. It’s a bold new commitment I’d like us to make together… a commitment to work toward a deeper comprehension of the faith we claim… a commitment to the 2nd part of our purpose statement… “To produce growing disciples who serve Christ.” Growing disciples must know what they believe. I fear that we don’t know the gospel and foundational truths it is built upon very well. The NCC is a tool that will help us grow as disciples of Jesus Christ; it’s a tool we can use both at church and at home.

NCC is a free internet catechism comprised of 52 questions and answers, one for each week of the year divided into 3 parts:

PART 1 = God, creation and fall, law (20 questions);
PART 2 = Christ, redemption, grace (15 questions);
PART 3 = Spirit, restoration, growing in grace (17 questions)

Questions #1 and the answer: “What is our only hope in life and death?”

Answer: “That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus.”

The same questions are asked of both children and adults; the children's answer is always part of the adult answer. A Bible verse accompanies each question and answer. In addition, there is a short commentary & a prayer. Each Sunday this year our call to worship will introduce the next question & answer from the NCC and the corresponding Scripture.

The practice of catechesis takes truth deep into our hearts, so we find ourselves thinking biblically. When death intrudes upon your family as it inevitably will and your children wonder, you wonder: “What is our only hope in life and death?”

Don’t you want their thinking & yours to go to that glorious answer of the gospel: “We are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus.”

Is this a church or family thing? YES! We’ll introduce the Q & A for each week at church. Our SS teachers will be reinforcing the answers in SS class. But this is 1st and foremost a family spiritual education tool. Make this a regular part of your family.

Are we supposed to memorize the answers? YES! The discipline of memorization drives concepts deeper into the heart and holds us more accountable to master the material. Be creative with it. Make flashcards, quiz one another, and review in the car, at breakfast, at bedtime. The idea is to build a biblical mindset. Don’t get too legalistic about the memorizing. Do the best you can… 2014 will be our review year.

What if I don’t agree with the answer? If you or someone in the family questions the answer given, let that be the catalyst for discussion. Let the discussion push you back to the Bible for more information. Encourage the kids express their doubts and questions. But learn the answers given. I hope the process will stimulate family discussions about the faith.

Will learning the NCC guarantee that my children will remain committed Christians when they grow up? No. But, Princeton theologian Archibald Alexander said, it is like firewood in a fireplace. Without the fire—the Spirit of God—firewood will not in itself produce a warming flame. But without fuel there can be no fire either, and that is what catechetical instruction is.

My prayer is that everyone connected to Pflugerville Community Church will share this new resolution to learn the NCC. It will take perseverance and patience and some hard work, but at the end of 2013 we will have strengthened the foundation of our faith. Not sure if this is right for you and/or your family? Go to website and check it out for yourself. www.newcitycatechism.com

ONE Resolution

I decided to make one and only one New Year’s resolution this year. I have resolved to open God’s Word each day BEFORE I open my laptop. No longer will I put the sports news or the weather report or Face Book friend’s comments before the One I call Lord. I know, shocking that a pastor would take so long to recognize his little idols that displace Christ our Lord. So far I’m 100% in keeping this resolution in 2013!

Book Review: The Final Martyrs

Shusaku Endo is one of my favorite authors. He was a 20th-century Japanese author who wrote from the unusual perspective of being both Japanese and Catholic. My two favorite Endo novels are Silence and The Samuri (not the book the Tom Cruz movie was based on). Both are set in 18^th century Japan where Christians are a persecuted minority. Both novels are marked by intense inner-conflicts centered on the Christian faith. They are not pleasant little feel-good stories with happy endings. Endo forces his readers to wrestle with hard questions about faith and God. Not ready for his novel? Try The final Martyrs, Eleven short stories that are deeply spiritual. The title story is set during the 18th-century persecution of Christians in Japan. I have found Endo’s writing to be inspiring and disturbing. Sometimes my faith needs to be inspired and sometimes it needs to be disturbed.
http://www.amazon.com/Final-Martyrs-New-Directions-Paperbook/dp/0811218112/ref=sr_1_21?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356212964&sr=1-21&keywords=Endo

 

Book Review #4: Last Night in Twisted River

I love a good story. The best movies are simply good stories. It’s never the special effects that make the movie for me; it’s the story. Movies almost never tell the story as well as a novel. If there is one exception in my view it would be, To Kill a Mockingbird, but I digress. A good novel tells a riveting story that has heroes and villains, conflicts and adventure, mystery and characters that feel like personal friends by the end of the story. John Irving is a great writer capable of telling stories that suck you in and make you feel the sadness, joy, fear, and dogged determination of the characters. So it was with great anticipation last spring that I began his novel Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving.

The main characters are father and son, Dominic and Danny Baciagalupo, who begin in a Maine logging camp (Dominic is the cook) and flee a determined lawman after a tragic accidental death. The story is too long, takes too many weird turns, and has too much gratuitous immorality. It’s one of those books that halfway through it you think, “I’m really not enjoying this at all, but I’m too far in to stop now… and maybe it will get better.” It didn’t. So I don’t recommend this Irving selection. Instead, I would recommend A Prayer for Owen Meany, another Irving novel.

http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Owen-Meany-John-Irving/dp/006220422X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356130135&sr=1-1&keywords=a+prayer+for+owen+meany+by+john+irving

It will have you laughing out loud and then crying. The main character, Owen Meany of course, is unforgettable. He’s a dwarfish little boy who is absolutely convinced he is God’s instrument. So if you’re looking for a great story, skip “Twisted River” and go with “Owen Meany”.

Book Review #3: Rebecca’s Revival

The first African slaves landed in North America at Jamestown in 1619. None were Christians. When the Civil War began in 1861 the vast majority of African-American slaves were Christians. How did that happen? How and why did people enslaved by white Christians embrace the Christian Faith? 100 years after the Civil War it would be the Black Church, led by Martin Luther King Jr. that would bravely stand against the oppression of racism, and become the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Jon Sensback tells the story of the rise of Christianity in the African slave community of the Virgin Islands that was to spread to America. It’s a marvelous story with a freed slave its center. The book: Rebecca’s Revival, Creating Black Christianity in the Atlantic World. http://www.amazon.com/Rebeccas-Revival-Creating-Christianity-Atlantic/dp/0674022572/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355846912&sr=1-1&keywords=rebecca%27s+revival+creating+black+christianity+in+the+atlantic+world

The back cover of Sensback’s book claims, “Rebecca’s Revival is the remarkable story of a Caribbean woman… a slave turned evangelist… who helped inspire the rise of black Christianity in the Atlantic world.” That isn’t hyperbole; it is indeed a remarkable story that’s fascinating as well as inspiring. The freed slave Rebecca became a believer at a young age. At 18, in 1736, she met a German missionary sent to St. Thomas by the Moravian Church. Rebecca would eventually marry that missionary and become one of the greatest evangelists the Church has ever known. It’s a story filled with unexpected twists and turns, euphoric successes, and heart-breaking losses. It’s a story of God working through a black woman who displayed amazing faith and courage. Rebecca went on to serve the Lord on 3 continents, North America, Europe, and Africa. She became a spiritual mentor to whites as well as blacks.

Of course, there were many reasons that African slaves converted to Christianity, but Sensback offers this as one of the primary reasons: “…the sense that Jesus was their friend; his word refuted the brutal degradation they endured daily… Christian worship furnished a refuge for the oppressed.” (Pg.91) Rebecca and the Moravian missionaries carried a message of hope to most oppressed people in the 18^th century world.

Looking for a good read over Christmas? Rebecca’s Revival is a worthy consideration.

Book Review #2: Spirituality According to Paul

The first week of February 2012 my wife, Sandy, and I had the opportunity to attend a retreat for pastors at the beautiful Laity Lodge at the HEB Foundation Camp outside Leakey, TX. The accommodations were wonderful. Our suite in Black Bluff, the 3-story premium housing complex, offered unparalleled views of the river and scenery as the structure is built on the side of a bluff, actually hanging over the Frio River. The food was gourmet quality. We enjoyed spending 3 days with other pastor-couples. The teaching was provided by Rodney Reeves, a professor at a Baptist university in Missouri. We enjoyed his conversational style of teaching. I read his book before the retreat: Spirituality According to Paul: Imitating the Apostle of Christ.
http://www.amazon.com/Spirituality-According-Paul-Imitating-Apostle/dp/0830839461/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355843958&sr=1-1&keywords=Rodney+Reeves
 
The back cover states: “Spirituality often evokes images of quiet centeredness, meditative serenity and freedom from life’s pressures. Contrast Paul, who promotes a cross-shaped spirituality for fools making their way through life’s trials. The brand images are crucifixion, burial and resurrection… surely a counterintuitive marketing program for living spiritually!”
In other words, Reeves’ book isn’t your run-of-the-mill instruction manual on how to make yourself feel better or gain more control of your life through a nuanced set of spiritual exercises. Instead, he sets out to “uncover Paul’s ways… how he lived out the gospel.” Reeves fleshes out, in 236 pages, what it means to participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ… Paul’s template of spirituality. The main theme of the book is to learn to imitate Paul’s spirituality as Paul’s goal was to imitate Christ, and then invite others to imitate us.
 
Here are a few startling quotes from the book, the kind of statements that made me stop reading and think and pray…
“When Paul gained Christ, he lost everything… Those of us who are Americans, living the comfortable life, pursuing the American dream… what did we lose when we gained Christ?” (Pg.25)
“When a man promises to be faithful to his bride, he is making a promise not only to her, her family and his family but also to the entire congregation… to every sister in Christ, to every brother in the Lord… Sex outside of marriage defiles the whole church…” (Pg.142) His chapter on 1 Corinthians 5 is worth the price of the book. He challenges the secular culture’s contention that sex is a private act between consenting adult and has nothing to do with the community. Unfortunately American Christians seem to have bought into this extremely self-centered view of sex and marriage.
“We can see now why Paul didn’t believe in tithing.” (Pg.159) That’s right, according to Reeves, Paul taught something far more challenging and rewarding than tithing.
 
Rodney Reeves’ book offers a deeper look at the teachings of Paul and yet always brings those teachings around to solid, practical application and challenge. It was one of my main sources as preached through the first 7 chapters of 1 Corinthians this year. It’s a book that challenges some of our assumptions about what it means to be a Christian… to follow, that means imitate, Christ. And it is surprisingly easy to read. I recommend it to those brave souls who want the challenge of self-denial and a cross-shaped life of following Christ.

December 16 Semon Homework

At the conclusion of each message I give a homework assignment to the congregation. Here's the assignment for December 16, 2012...
Homework: Continue to work on memorizing Psalm 23.
Give thanks for your place at the table of the Lord and pray for someone you may or may not think of as an enemy, but one who has yet to respond to the invitation to the Lord's table.

Blessing: “May you drink deeply of his cup of joy as his anointed, and extend mercy and grace to those not yet at his table. Amen.”