pilgrim people

We are privileged to have Rev. Nollie Malabuyo with us this Lord's Day as a guest to our adult Sunday school class. Rev. Malabuyo will give a presentation on the state of God's kingdom in the Philippines and his work as a missionary. Rev. Malabuyo is a graduate from Westminster Seminary California, a native Filipino, and recently ordained by the URC in Walnut Creek, CA to be a missionary to his native country. This will be a good opportunity to hear how the Gospel is spreading and disciples are being made in other parts of the world.

Without doubt, tithing and giving is a topic that I would rather avoid. As a pastor, I know that many parishioners have come from churches that not only had terrible theology, but seemed to maintain an endless fundraising campaign. That sort of financial pressure, coupled with the non-doctrinal, moralistic, therapeutic deism in the teaching and preaching, has left many poor souls with an aversion to the topic of tithing and giving.

Not only that, but talking about tithing and giving, for many of us, just seems so, well, tacky. Talk of budgets, incomes, and expenses just doesn’t seem very heavenly-minded. And with the cost of gas and food on the rise, is this really something we want to talk about?

And yet, God has chosen to advance his kingdom through ordinary means. God uses ordinary people giving of their time, abilities, and resources. As uncomfortable as the subject may be to us, financial giving is something which the New Testament clearly addresses as a regular part of the Christian life. The Bible describes giving, not only in terms of joy and worship.

We must, therefore, ask the question: what exactly does God require of me in financial giving? This post will consider briefly what the Scriptures say about this sometimes uncomfortable, but potentially joyful subject.

Click to read more ...

A new Three Forms of Unity Class on Sunday mornings (after worship) begins June 1. This is a twelve-week course designed as an orientation and/or refresher to the Reformed faith and the beliefs of Christ URC. This class is required for those interested in becoming a communicant member of Christ URC. On the other hand, you may already be a communicant member of Christ URC but you would like a basic review of the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation as summarized in our confessions. Whatever your situation is, this course is designed to get you to think about what you believe and why you believe it.

Here is a breakdown of the class:

Class #1 : Introduction to the Class

Class #2 : Law & Gospel; True Faith (HC questions 1-21; BC articles 14-15)

Class #3 : Scripture; Trinity; Creation; Christ (HC questions 22-58; BC articles 1-13, 16-20)

Class #4 : Justification by Faith Alone (HC questions 59-64; BC articles 21-23)

Class #5 : Baptism (HC questions 65-74; BC articles 33-34; CO articles 41-43)

Class #6 : Lord’s Supper (HC questions 75-82; BC article 35; CO articles 45-46)

Class #7 : The Church and Church Discipline (HC questions 83-85; BC articles 27-32, 36; CO articles 1-36; 51-66)

Class #8 : Good Works (HC questions 86-115; BC articles 24-25)

Class #9 : Prayer (HC questions 116-129)

Class #10 : Election; Man’s Conversion (Canons of Dort, 1^st and 3^rd /4^th Heads)

Class #11 : Christ’s Atonement; Perseverance (Canons of Dort, 2^nd and 5^th Heads)

Class #12 : Understanding & Enjoying Reformed Worship (CO articles 37-50)

* HC = Heidelberg Catechism
* BC = Belgic Confession
* CO = Church Order

If you are interested in reading more about the connection between Owen's doctrine of the pactum salutis and his doctrine of the imputation of Christ's active obedience, pick up a copy of The Outlook this October. The editor has agreed to publish an article I wrote on Owen's doctrine of imputation, which, hopefully is more clear, cogent, and concise than a series of blogposts.

There is one point, however, that I would like to make briefly. For Owen, ALL of Christ's obedience was ultimately active obedience, even his suffering and death. In some regards, Owen found the debates in his day over the distinction between the active and passive obedience of Christ to be foolhardy, “for [Christ] exercised the highest active obedience in his suffering, when he offered himself to God through the eternal Spirit.” (V, 253) Because of the pactum salutis, the whole of Christ's work was in the context of active obedience. Sent as our surety in the covenant of grace, Christ had to accomplish the work the Father gave him to do and fulfilling the demands of the law by keeping its commands and suffering its penalty and curse. For England's most significant federalist theologian, all of this was Christ's active obedience.

Christ URC was privileged with a May visit from Dr. Godfrey for the fifth consecutive year. Dr. Godfrey preached an epic sermon on Psalm 81 in the morning Divine service, and subsequently taught an extremely helpful and edifying class on "How to Read the Psalms" in our adult Sunday school. For those who missed it, look for his sermon and Sunday school lecture to be posted on the "listen" page soon.