Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

Preacher: Ben Zornes.Our tendency is to avoid hearing hard words. We tolerate plenty of profane words. We don’t mind trading rhetorical blows of biting words, or watching the “food fight” of political & media blow-hards. But we shield ourselves against hard words.

Preacher: Toby Sumpter“The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Ps. 110:1). Where is Jesus right now? We confess the answer every single week: He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. And what is Jesus doing at the right hand of God the Father? He is reigning until all of His enemies have been put beneath His feet. The Psalmist says the Lord has sent His rod of strength out of Zion to conquer all of His enemies.

Preacher: Shawn PatersonAt the time of the Reformation, the inherited church calendar was bloated and a burden, with 40–60 holy days and dozens of fasting days. The Reformed solution to this problem varied. Some ditched the calendar altogether, while the majority retained what are called the five evangelical feast days: Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost. Both groups used similar criteria for their pastoral decisions regarding what to celebrate.First, they acknowledged that Christians are free in Christ to observe or not observe special days or seasons. As St Paul wrote, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” The second criteria was that of edification. Will this practice largely help or hurt our people in their faith? Each congregation has different needs, different contexts, and this takes wisdom.

There is so much freedom in obedience. But sinners complicate everything, and by our own hard hearts, we make obedience hard.

We live in a generation that wants to define family in radically perverse and demented ways. In times like this, it is easy to allow phrases like the traditional family and the biblical family to blur together, as though they were the same thing. But the biblical family is much more militant than the traditional family, and much less sentimental. And this is one of the reasons why the traditional family has had such trouble defending itself against the onslaught of the “brave new family.”

Preacher: Douglas WilsonThe word eucatastrophe was coined by J.R.R. Tolkien, and it refers to a deliverance when all was thought to be lost. There was no possible way . . . and then the unbelievable happened. “My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed thee.”

The reason our nation is fracturing into tribes, breaking the tenuous alliances that held us together, and drawing battle lines is that we have fled from the worship of the triune God, and run to worship various idols. So, don’t join frenzied crowds who aren’t governed by the Spirit of Wisdom. But do not lag behind when it comes to zealously pursuing the worship of God alone.

This is the second message in our Discipleship Seminar on Marriage.For more resources visit https://christkirk.com.

This is the sixth video in our Discipleship Seminar on Marriage.For more resources visit https://christkirk.com.

This is the fifth video in our Discipleship Seminar on Marriage.For more resources visit https://christkirk.com.