Bulimia Matters.7

“Music and theology alone are capable of giving peace and happiness to troubled souls. This plainly proves that the devil, the source of all unhappiness and worries, flees music as much as he does theology.”

16th Century Reformer Martin Luther in a letter he penned while in prison.

G. Mark Sumpter

Jerome, On the Bethlehem Scene

An important part of biblical and historical reflection in the old Mediterranean world includes the early church Fathers. One such pastor, scholar and servant is Jerome (lived 347 A.D.-420 A.D.). Bethlehem was his home from roughly 384 A.D. to 420 A.D. He’s best known at the popular level for his translation work and editorial scholarship of the Bible. He worked at producing a translation into the vulgar speech of the Latin Christian world of his own day. It became recognized as the Latin Vulgate. He began this venture in 381-382 A.D. and completed the project there in a Bethlehem monastery in 405 A.D.

Historians look back on Jerome and interpret his life with shades of controversy: was he truly the capable linguist, well versed in the biblical languages, as he’s been made out relative to the Vulgate? What about his loose interpretative commentary on the types and metaphors in the Bible in the area of biblical studies? But one matter over which there’s little debate is the access he provided for subsequent scholars with respect to the later work of Bible translation. His work with the Vulgate became an epoch-making contribution for comparative study for the Middle Ages and Reformation period. And with respect to the language of Latin, his work paved the way for Ecclesiastical Latin, the Latin of the church and of theological scholarship, and we know today, there’s a huge debt owed to Jerome in this light.

G. Mark Sumpter

Spring Training

The Simeon Trust helps men with their preaching. An 8th Workshop on biblical exposition will be hosted at Christ The Redeemer Church in Spokane, WA, March 17-19, 2009. I think also there will be some training offered in McMinnville, OR!!




Kent Hughes of Wheaton, Ill will be on hand. OPC Pastor Larry Wilson has raved about the teaching and training offered through College Church, where Hughes is the preaching pastor.

To check out the brochure and see the application for the 2009 Spokane workshop go here: www.simeonworkshops.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=114

G. Mark Sumpter

Growing Fat Little Bodies

To postpone the work of religious education until preparatory school and college is as rash as it is foolish. ‘Let a child wait until he is grown and then choose his own religion,’ said an English statesman in the hearing of Coleridge. Coleridge made no reply, but led the speaker out into his garden. ‘Look around upon the bare ground’ he said quietly: ‘I have decided not to put out any flowers and vegetables this year, but to wait till August and let the garden decide for itself whether it prefers weeds or strawberries.’

From Catechetics by the Lutheran Churchman Michael Reu, (1869-1943)

G. Mark Sumpter

Liturgical Foot Prints

Printed forms of liturgy in the worship bulletin or no?

“The right balance, it would seem, would be an orderly approach that employs Biblically based historical liturgical forms, while leaving room for free prayers and the work of the Spirit. Again, the practice of the early church provides guidance. While moderate liturgical worship developed very early (with use of the Ten Commandments, Creed, Confession, Lord's Prayer), the responsive litanies (e.g. santus, sursum corda, kyrie eleison, the peace), are mainly a later development. Worship that employs only fixed forms is stifling. The complete absence of fixed forms, however, may leave the church unnecessarily vulnerable to the every changing cultural-ecclesiastical environment.”

Terry L. Johnson in Leading in Worship, p. 7

G. Mark Sumpter

A Richly Textured, Higher Life

When the church loses control at the wheel and she swerves and spins going down the slippery slope of covenant absent-mindedness, then we all suffer. For example, with absence of covenant mindedness and covenant living, then why consider church membership with church vows? And another, with a down-play of covenant teaching, then there's no wonder when businessmen renege with respect to contracts, and/or do away with follow-through.

Listen to the value and the place of covenant-mindedness and living on the basis of word, promise, obligation and commitment. This piece comes from Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck, he writes in the book, In The Beginning:

“But the doctrine of the covenant of works is based on Scripture and is eminently valuable. Among rational and moral creatures all higher life takes the form of a covenant. Generally, a covenant is an agreement between persons who voluntarily obligate and bind themselves to each other for the purpose of fending off an evil or obtaining a good. Such an agreement, whether it is made tacitly or defined in explicity detail, is the usual form in terms of which humans live and work together. Love, friendship, marriage, as well as all social cooperation in business, industry, science, art and so forth, is ultimately grounded in covenant, that is, in reciprocal fidelity and an assortment of generally recognized moral obligations.

It should not surprise us, therefore, that also the highest and most richly textured life of human beings, namely, religion, bears this character. In Scripture 'covenant’ is the fixed form in which the relation of God to his people is depicted and presented. And even where the word does not occur, we nevertheless always see the two parties as it were in dialogue with each other, dealing with each other, with God calling people to conversion, reminding them of their obligations, and obligating himself to provide all that is good.”

From In The Beginning, Baker Book House, p. 203

The local church must hold fast to her Bible-teaching terms and expressions within her own assembly; she must hold fast to covenant life, for such covenant life sets the pace for all of life, 24/7.

G. Mark Sumpter

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like

This is the standard drive-by, click-and-paste-picture from the web. Grants Pass gets a dusting.

G. Mark Sumpter

Elect Lose Salvation?

From a Christian inquirer: Paul said in one of his books that a fellow evangelist left the church, seeking after his own ways not Christ’s, doesn't that imply that he left the faith and lost his salvation?

Answer: I think you’re referring to 2 Timothy 4: 9-10---- “Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.”

You specifically ask: “…doesn’t that imply that he left the faith and lost his salvation?”

Yes, it does. And then we extrapolate to another question, then, how do we explain, “once saved, always saved”—has grace been interrupted or withdrawn by man’s disobedience?

The Bible speaks plainly and with urgent appeals to members of the visible church that they not presume on God, nor rest with irresponsible ease with things pertaining to their salvation. Listen to Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away…”

The Bible doesn’t hold back from warning the elect about drifting or losing their salvation. Does this mean that in fact the elect can lose their salvation?

Let me make a distinction. The Bible holds two truths together—we’re back to the twin truths found in the Word of God, about 1) His sovereign plan and purpose, and 2) man’s responsibility. Again, see Deuteronomy 29:29-----there are the unrevealed ways of God (His eternal plan are things known only to Him), and the revealed ways of God (His plan is revealed in the Word and in history): His promises, wondrous works and commands.

1. God has His eternally elect, the saved, only known to Him (unrevealed) 2 Tim. 2:19.
2. God has His in-history people known as the elect, the church (revealed). Eph. 1:1-5.

The Bible presents these two truths side by side; they fit like one circle overlapping the other. There’s the eternally elect of God right alongside of the historically elect. Bible teachers will sometimes refer to the invisible church and visible church. They are so closely matched, really and truly indistinguishable from our viewpoint.

Only God Himself, as the Divine One, knows the hearts of all men. From the human side, we see things outwardly: men say they love the Lord, His Word, and they work at following him, and so we walk together as the church. We worship and serve together, and we mutually trust the Lord’s work in us all. This is the life and work of the church.

But the heart can be deceitful. God is the searcher and watcher of the heart. He proves our hearts, and various tests prove-out motives, desires and the deeds of men (see the parable of the sower and the soils in Mark 4).

Demas was a member of the visible church, the elect of God, and even was a worker in the things of God with the great apostle Paul. Paul treated him as the elect of God. He’s named among the beloved stalwarts, brothers, in gospel-work at Paul’s side: Mark, Barnabas and Luke (Col. 4:10, 14). But, from 2 Timothy 2:9, as Demas showed a love for the world’s ways, and then showed that he was unrepentant, ultimately then, a heart of unbelief began to surface. Such unbelief, along with the lack of repentance, is inconsistent with being a member of the invisible church, the eternally elect of God. This drifting and this hardening, with no repentance, means there’s a departure from the living God taking place; there’s a forsaking of God’s promise (Hebrews 3:12, see verse 19 too). Demas left the Lord; he left the church for he was not of the church, eternally (please see, 1 John 2:19).

With the non-heeding, non-repentant, the visible church is to make a human judgment about them (Jesus said, “…treat them as a heathen and a tax collector” Matthew 18:17-18). God will have the final say on the last day about this; with the unrepentant, even those who are presumably followers of the Lord, they are to be put out of the visible church, because they no longer are listening to the counsel of the Word.

This area of Bible teaching turns us back again and again to the Lord Jesus Christ. God always, always holds hope to the repentant. Our hope of salvation is not in our faith, or in our doing, etc. We are frail and weak, and we do fail. But He is our hope.

This teaching also reminds us that the Christian faith is a promise-believing faith! We’re always directed from Scripture to believe the promises of God—to continually believe the promises. Jesus said that the mark of discipleship in His kingdom is faith and repentance (Mark 1:15). Turning to Him—making that our practice is the day by day practice of the Christian faith. Our rest is Jesus, the God-Man! He can and does carry us through to the end.

While we trust His ability to carry us, we always put our trust to work: we must heed the call from Scripture, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13). And those who hold fast to the Lord are doing so assured that He is holding fast to them!

One last thing. The Bible clearly establishes the point that a man or woman can have assurance of salvation in this earthly life. How? Our Lord Jesus said: Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes in Me has everlasting life—John 6:47. Also, 1 John 5:12-13: He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Believe the promises! Live them out—daily!

Our assurance of salvation rests on the Promise-Giver, the Lord. His Word, the Bible, is the promise-Book. Yes, He has His eternal plan of sovereign election of His own children—and He will carry His elect all the way home; and Yes, the Bible holds out the sure mother-promise: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). Our daily trust in Christ does not, and will not, ever disappoint. We’re to rest in Him, but not with an irresponsible rest.

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.6

Yes, surely the wicked actions of men have a place in God’s eternal purpose. The Bible makes that abundantly clear. Wicked men may not think they are serving God’s purposes: but they are serving His purposes all the same, even by the most wicked of their acts.

At that point, however, serious questions might seem to arise. If wicked actions of wicked men have a place in God’s plan, if they are foreordained of God, then is man responsible for them, and is not God the author of sin?

To each of these questions the Bible returns a very unequivocal answer. Yes, man is responsible for his wicked actions; and No, God is not the author of sin.

That man is responsible for his wicked actions is made so plain from the beginning of the Bible to the end that it is quite useless to cite individual proof texts. But it is equally clear in the Bible that God is not the author of sin. That is clear from the very nature of sin, as rebellion against God’s holy law. It is also expressly taught. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, says the Epistle of James: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts He any man: but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

J.G. Machen in The Christian View of Man, p. 43

G. Mark Sumpter

Hauling Chickens

Steer Clear of Flatbed Chicken Trucks on the Road

Crates of birds can send a bunch of nasty bacteria flapping in your direction

ATLANTA - You've heard about the chicken that crossed the road. But have you heard the one about the chickens traveling down the road? It's no laughing matter. Crates of chickens being trucked along the highway in the back of an open truck can shoot a bunch of nasty bacteria into the cars behind them, researchers have found. Drivers stuck behind such a truck should “pass them quickly,” advised study co-author Ana Rule, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University. Even so, it's not clear that germy debris will make you sick. None of the scientists who studied this problem got sick. And the disease-causing bacteria in question are normally spread by food or water, not air.

Germy Travels

Rule and her colleagues at the Bloomberg School of Public Health focused on the so-called Delmarva Peninsula, a coastal area that includes parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The region is a chicken Mecca, with one of the highest concentrations of broiler chickens per acre in the nation.The researchers chose a 17-mile stretch of highway connecting chicken farms in Maryland to a processing plant to the south in Accomac, Va. They rode in four-door cars with all the windows down and the air conditioning off. They checked the cars for bacteria after driving when there were no chicken trucks around. And they checked for bacteria after 10 trips behind flatbed trucks carrying crates of broiler chickens.They collected bacteria from air samples, door handles and soda cans inside the car. In all the truck chases, they found high levels of certain bacteria, including some that are resistant to antibiotics.

‘Unnatural Experiment’

The study, released this week, is being published in the first issue of the Journal of Infection and Public Health, and it's billed as the first to look at whether poultry trucking exposes people to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It was a casual conversation that inspired the effort. “Somebody said, ‘I went to the beach the other day and I got stuck behind a chicken truck, and boy, is that nasty,’” Rule said. She said studies to determine if chicken trucks can make you sick are somewhere down the road. Dr. Keith Klugman, an Emory University epidemiologist who was not involved in the research, said getting sick that way is unlikely. Most healthy people don't suffer serious illness from these bacteria even when exposed in more conventional ways.

“It was kind of an unnatural experiment, in that people were driving behind these trucks with the windows open and the air conditioning off — for 17 miles,” he added.

“If you were driving behind a truck that was spewing stuff out the back of it, the first thing you would probably do is close your windows.”
AP Story on November 25, 2008

G. Mark Sumpter

Fleshly Words Well-Pleasing to God

Some have expressed concern that Evangelical and Reformed churches offer to God man-made creeds, catechisms and confessions of faith, and it’s put forth, shouldn’t the Scriptures be our sole spoken word offered in the public service of worship?

Many claim the authority of Scripture—let’s recite sections of Scripture, say, a Psalm or one of Paul’s letters; that’s Scripture! We do not at all disparage the authority of the Bible when we cite the man-made creeds and confessions, any more than discredit or depreciate the office of the pastor when he’s in the pulpit preaching, teaching and exhorting. Just as faithful man-made words from the pastor in the pulpit make for a well-pleasing offering of worship, so are the faithful man-made words offered by the whole of the congregation with her collective confessing voice.

Biblical, expository preaching proclaims, expounds and applies Jesus Christ—and all full of Scripture, scriptural portions, allusions and points; in a like manner, historic creeds of faithful men as they are confessed are freighted full of Scripture and scriptural portions. In this way, the vocabulary word-choice and the specific phraseology of Christian doctrine recited in the creeds builds up God’s people with equipping as God’s visible people of history.

Confessions of the church make strikingly clear that the visible, historic church marks herself as earthly and this-worldly and tells God and one another that she’s catholic throughout the globe (He’s Lord of all places and peoples) and catholic down through the generations (He is Lord of time).

God is Lord in history and works through history; He works through those with bodies, brains and bowels. He works for “us men and our salvation.” The creeds and catechisms are the fruit of the church’s hands. Men and women who confess their faith are not afraid of fleshly, man-made words. God gave us the gift of the church, let's be the church.

G. Mark Sumpter

The Arch-Way of Tyre

The Trye of old Phoencia was situated on an island about one-half mile off the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This narrow water barrier fostered some protection and security for the citizens of the island. Of course, being an island-city, there were disadvantages; it meant having to maintain supplies from the mainland. The greatest import regarding Trye was her strategic location for overseas trade. She became a city to emulate, and many around the Mediterranean theater took economic and military cues from her.

Isaiah 23, Jeremiah 25, Ezekiel 26-28, Joel 3, Amos 1 and Zechariah 9 bring words of judgment, in fact, each prophet made doubly-sure that the inhabitants of Tyre knew that complete devastation was in the forecast. Why the strong words against Trye?

1. The alliance between Ahab and the Phoenician wife, Jezebel? (1 Kings 16:30-31)

2. The self-proclamation of being a 'god'? (Ezek. 28)

3. For selling the inhabitants of Jerusalem into slavery? (Amos 1)

Scholars make the case that it was Alexander the Great that ultimately brought Tyre to her knees (332 B.C.).

Jesus heaped up words of confrontation to His very own people of Galilee, and He refers to Tyre: Matthew 11:21-2 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

Trye, along with these other cities, should register a recall for us, a recall to plead with God for pliable consciences and supple hearts, to heed His Word.

G. Mark Sumpter

Sha-a-rim

This is located off the border-edge of the Valley of Elah, as mentioned in 1 Samuel 17:52, in the region where David conquered Goliath. Specifically, it's the location on the way of the rout carried out by the Israelites, when they chased the Philistines out of the area, back to Philistia. It's cited as the way of the Sha-a-rim.

1 Samuel 17:52 “....by the way to Sha-a-rim, even unto to Gath...”

Jeremy, my 16-year-old son and I, the Lord willing, will see places just like this one in the coming weeks. We're grateful for what's ahead. Stay tuned for more details.

G. Mark Sumpter

Friday Catechism

At the Sumpter home in Grants Pass on Friday mornings, we draw Westminster Shorter Catechism questions out of the basket and quiz one another. Below is an outline that I've used here at Faith OPC. I've seen these kinds of outlines and teaching helps on the web and in books, and what not.

An Outline of the Westminster Shorter Catechism

Catechism=orderly, sounding-over, sounding-through instruction “…to write to you an orderly account…” Luke 1:3 “Apollos…had been instructed in the way of the Lord…” Acts 18:24

I. Introduction to the Catechism: God's Summum Bonum (highest good) for Man
What is man’s purpose? Where is this purpose taught? (Questions 1-3)

II. What Man is To Believe: The Triune God, Creation and Providence (Questions 4-38)
The Doctrine of God (Questions 4-6)
The Doctrine of God's Works (Questions 7-11)
The Doctrine of God's Covenant of Life or Works (Questions 12-19)
Man's test or probation (Question 12)
Man's fall into sin, his misery (Questions 13-19)
The Doctrine of God's Covenant of Grace (Questions 20-38)
Jesus: The Redeemer and His Work (Questions 21-28)
Holy Spirit: His Work of Applying Redemption (Questions 29-38)

III. What Man is To Do: Obey the revealed will of God (Questions 39-107)
The Rule of Man's Obedience Summarized: 10 Commandments (Quest. 39-42)
The Rule Prefaced with God's Gracious Work (Questions 43-44)
The Rule of Man's Duty to God—Commandments 1-4 (Questions 45-62)
The Rule of Man's Duty to Man—Commandments 5-10 (Questions 63-81)
Man's Need for Faith and Repentance (Questions 82-87)
God's Gifts of the Means of Grace (Questions 88-97)
God's Gift of Prayer (Questions 98-107)

G. Mark Sumpter

Observing Advent with a Cheer Conscience

Faith OPC stands in the Evangelical and Reformed stream of historic Christianity. The matter of observing Advent, the coming of the Lord, though not being a matter of explicit command is, in our session’s judgment, a sound scriptural application of the teaching of the Bible. Israel learned from the creation account, Genesis 1:14, that God marks time, days and seasons by the sun, moon and stars, and the Lord provided a way of marking particular acts of His saving power, like in the setting up of the stones near Gilgal by the Jordan River after Israel crossed into the land of promise (Josh. 4:19-24).

All of the Old Testament historic signposts of grace, the days of offerings, feasts and memorials, are clearly fulfilled in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus on the Lord’s Day (Matt. 28:1-11; Col. 2:14-17). Faith’s session gladly leads the congregation to celebrate the grace and truth of the life, death and resurrection of Christ with the weekly memorial of the Lord’s Sabbath. But as an application of God’s work in history, we, along with other Reformed churches, place an emphasis for teaching and discipleship on the great gospel-based events of history: Advent, Good Friday, Christ’s Resurrection, His Ascension and Pentecost.

One example of Reformed application of such teaching, is stated by the Second Helvetic Confession of 1566 (XXIV): “Moreover, if the churches do religiously celebrate the memory of the Lord’s Nativity, Circumcision, Passion, Resurrection, and of his Ascension into heaven, and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, according to Christian liberty, we do very well approve of it.”

This Advent season, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, and on Christmas Day, the session will lead in worship, teaching and preaching with:

Nov 30 Christmas Through the Eyes of the Angels (Sumpter)
Dec 7 Christmas Through the Eyes of Joseph (Sumpter)
Dec 14 Christmas Through the Eyes of Zecharias (Jeromin)
Dec 21: Christmas Through the Eyes of Mary (Sumpter)
Dec 25: Christmas Through the Eyes of TBA (Jeromin)

G. Mark Sumpter

More Gift-Giving Ideas

Carolyn Custis James writes:

A cartoon appeared in the October 1998 issue of Christianity Today, next to a book review titled, “Theology for the Rest of Us.” The reviewer was assessing Dr. Ellen Charry's book By the Renewing of Your Minds, in which she argues from Jesus and Paul through the writings of Augustine, John Calvin, and other church leaders that theology is (and always has been) good for every Christian in practical everyday ways.

The cartoon pictures a mother seated on a park bench with one hand resting on the handle of the stroller containing her wide-eyed, pacifier-plugged infant. Her other hand holds a book, balanced on her knees, which she is reading with the same undivided interest you would expect her to devote to the latest romance novel. The apprehensive look on the baby's face is explained by the title on the book jacket: “Theology for New Mothers.” What the cartoonist intended as a joke (or at best a bit of satire on the notion that a mother would find any use for theology) is, in fact, an excellent suggestion.

I have not yet attended a baby shower where the new mother unwrapped a systematic theology book, but upon reflection, that might not be such a bad idea. The value of reading Dr. Spock is negligible compared with the help a new mother would gain from focusing on her theology.

From her book, When Life and Beliefs Collide, pp. 138-139.

G. Mark Sumpter

Genealogy Whistle Stop

Bible readers have to stop at Matthew 1:6 when they note that the Spirit dropped in king when referencing David as a place-holder in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. No one else gets a handle in the flow of the names. Up to verse 5, and then picking up the account on to verse 7 and past, it's standard family-tree information, albeit, a royal one. But the train, noticeably, has pulled into Kingsville.

Some reinforcement on the importance of Matthew's use of the king with reference to David comes from the lone son of Jacob mentioned in verse 2, Judah. Jacob had twelve sons, only Judah is noted here. Genesis 49:10 tells us that Judah will have the scepter, that's reinforcement about royalty in the line from Judah to David.

The Gospel writer lays out quite a bit of literary groundwork with the Old Testament sweep of history, starting out the genealogy on a note of David (v. 1) and ending it on a note about the same royal figure (v. 17). Then Joseph is called the son of David (v. 20) at the very point of doubting the Spirit's work of conceiving this One within Mary. David's line is in full view.

Matthew 2:2 then gives us the question from the wise men on the whereabouts of the One born King of the Jews. Why is Matthew arranging his Gospel this way? His story about the baby Christ in Matthew 1:18-25 and 2:8-21 is the story of the One who has legal right to the crown. And this King brought His Kingdom in order to bring relief from sin's warfare and oppression (1:21). He is the Son of David, the son of Mary, and He is God with us.

G. Mark Sumpter

It's Not About Me and More

The legs of the stool for faithful singing in worship are: 1) the content of the words, 2) the muscial score of the tunes and 3) the manner in which worshipers offer the praise, thanksgiving, contrition and edification. Beauty is discovered when these three matters line up in a worship offering from the voices of God's people. Psalms 148 and 33, as examples, point us in the direction of keeping proportion about text, tune and a comely, fitting manner of expression.

The point of matching text, tune and manner of expression has not been an issue in the contemporary worship music movement. The issue rather has been the breadth of selections of text, tune and manner of expression. Contemporary worship music has settled for a reduced repertoire; her focus has been God's forgiveness through the cross of Christ. “It's not about me,” and that's so very true. CWM has rightly led the way in this one: God is holy and God alone has provided salvation through faith in His Son. So far, so very, very good. But CWM has neglected a theology of text, tune and manner of expression regarding the subjects of wisdom and warfare. Read the Psalms. God's Song Book calls us to greater faithfulness, a greater breadth, guiding us to round out what we sing and how we sing it.

Contemporary worship music has three legs of one particular stool, and it's a super, super vital one; but God has many more stools in His house.

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.5

“God does not play dice with the universe.”
- Albert Einstein


“Einstein was doubly wrong when he said, God does not play dice. Not only does God definitely play dice, but He sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they can't be seen.” -Stephen Hawking


G. Mark Sumpter

Laws of Creation

“The laws of creation [are] no more or less sure than the laws of redemption. And these laws of creation are sure precisely because God has covenanted to make them sure as a part of His carrying out His own purposes [see Jer. 32: 16-23; 33:19-22]. If the laws that govern creation are covenantal in nature, we should expect that a study of the nature of God's covenant should give us insight into the character of the laws of creation. Yet at the same time we must not miss Jeremiah chapter 31 echoing the book of Job in saying that God's wisdom in His establishing and working out His purposes in creation is unfathomable to us:

Were you there when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone--while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7

...By implication, all of creation, though mysterious to us in many ways, answers directly to God who upholds it...We should not expect the world to act entirely predictably as a big machine; we should expect that it holds surprises for us that we will never entirely uncover and comprehend.”

From Science and Grace: God's Reign in the Natural Sciences, p. 104

G. Mark Sumpter

Book Review: Pleasing People

In John Stott’s The Cross of Christ we read, “Bought by Christ, we have no business to become the slaves of anybody or anything else. Once we were the slaves of sin; now we are the slaves of Christ, and his service is the true freedom.” Freedom through our Heavenly Father’s gracious act of adoption because of Christ’s person and work includes freedom from man-pleasing. Author Lou Priolo aims to get our attention about this.

His 2007 publication, Pleasing People deserves a very high recommendation, and yet, a caution.

The book gets very high marks on its analysis of the sin of the fear of man. For nearly 100 pages, the author explores the labyrinth of deception regarding man’s own ways of self-promotion, self-service and man-pleasing. The look at biblical passages and quotes from the 17th century pastor Richard Baxter solidly point out the need of the Great Physician’s LASIK corrective surgery that gives liberating and glorious sight! You’ll read excellent commentary diagnosing man’s foolish ways with respect to:
▪hypocrisy
▪pride
▪fear of man
▪applause-seeking
▪excessive sensitivity to correction
▪self-centeredness about fulfilling man’s expectations

High marks here! Pastors, parents, Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, youth workers, here’s your practical guide!

However, readers must be cautioned. The book lacks attention on explaining God’s liberty for His children through justification by faith in Christ, His favor with adoption taking His children into His love, and the foundation of God’s definitive work of sanctification from which the believer moves forward walking in daily life. In short, the book fails to explicate the doctrine of the believer’s union with Jesus Christ. My specific concern? Just as the book turned over stone after stone with super exactitude for analyzing man’s sin, so I was seat-belted into the book anticipating the same stone-turning—appropriately geared for the popular readership—in the primary area for Christian faith and life: union with Christ. The book didn’t deliver the gospel mail. The counter-balance of expository work in the second half of the book was assumed, not handled and applied. The thorough diagnosis seen in Part 1 Our Problem needs the same thoroughness for antidote, healing and recovery in Part 2 God's Solution.

Priolo realizes that Pleasing People needs this caution. In the book’s preface we read: “It is possible to open up this volume at any point and read for pages without any apparent reference to justification by faith, the gospel of Christ or the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but these truths are to be understood throughout.”

OK. Acknowledgement and qualification appreciated. But the model of the rhythm of God’s indicative and then the imperative as in Paul’s letters urges us to follow that method of Bible teaching. There are places where the book rightly employs the indicative and imperative pattern, like on pages 173-175. But consistency with opening up vital truth about God’s pleasure in His Son’s life, cross-work and resurrection places a discussion on the far-reaching temptations of the fear man in the right spot. The book needs this balance of digestible expository practical help and hope. Such work in the truth, when applied with the Spirit’s help, sets a man free, and thereby, he's equipped to shake loose from the snare of being an approval junkie.

Proiolo's work over the years has shown that he knows how to use the Word well; this volume is super high octane in Part 1 about putting off the sin of man-pleasing; however, Part 2 needs to be throttled up with biblical line upon line, spoon-feeding and teaching on putting on Christ. Lou, revisit Part 2 and do a re-write, and you'll have World Series stuff.

G. Mark Sumpter

Give Thanks

This is Tovia Ann Sumpter at 8 months. She's our wonderful miracle grandbaby, born premature at 2 lbs, 2 oz. She's our third grandchild. This morning at our Thanksgiving Worship, a brother led the congregational prayer giving thanks for various kindnesses and blessings in the past year of 2008, and he offered specific thanks for God's goodness to this little one. I was more than a little moved emotionally as I heard this man pray for Tovia. God is good in so many, many ways.

G. Mark Sumpter

We Want To Be Covenantal Christians

When we get introduced to the issues that gave rise to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, it’s not too long and we come to learn about God’s way of relating to His people. The biblical term customarily used is covenant. Many times in the Bible, a consistent pattern emerges that guides us on how He relates to His own people.

The pattern includes: 1) an introduction about God’s person and name, “I am the Lord,” 2) the provision of access to Him “…through the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand…,” 3) an expectation of us to follow His commandments, “I am the Lord…You shall have no other gods before Me,” 4) the drawing on and heeding His on-going, sufficient and accountable presence, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that may cling to Him for He is your life…” and 5) the prospect of living under the blessing of His triumph, “I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

Covenantal Christians live out their daily faith:
1. Yes, God is our God. He made us, He owns us, and He’s our Savior.
2. Yes, God is holy and we need Christ through whom we may worship and live in the Spirit’s enabling power.
3. Yes, His ways, God’s laws, are our reliable guide. We fear Him.
4. Yes, He’s always with us, both comforting and correcting us in discipleship.
5. Yes, God is the Alpha and the Omega, faithful to us and to those coming behind us. We are forward-looking.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices
Who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices
Who from our mothers’ arms, hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
Trinity Hymnal, p. 86

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.4

“When you come to a fork in the road,” as Yogi Berra put it, “take it."

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.3

If you are afraid of men and a slave to their opinion, go and do something else. Go and make shoes to fit them. Go even and paint pictures which you know are bad, but which suit their bad taste. But do not keep on all your life preaching sermons which say not what God sent you to declare, but what they have you to say. Be courageous.

Philip Brooks, 1877 Yale Lectures on Preaching

G. Mark Sumpter

Free Will

Christian inquirer asks: “I don't understand predestination when Jesus said ‘Jerusalem…How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen…. but you were not willing,’ doesn't that imply we have free will?”

Answer: Two important Bible doctrines as backdrop to your question must be kept in mind. The Bible teaches both of these truths.

First, the Bible teaches God's Sovereignty. God is in complete control of every action and reaction of men and things; His will unfolds according to His pleasure and plan (Ephesians 1:11). He grants salvation to all whom He chooses, on the basis of His good pleasure, not because of the exercise of man’s faith or good deeds foreseen (Ephesians 1:4-5). Also, importantly, the Bible teaches that God is a personal being, not a force or impersonal power. He's named Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Second, the Bible teaches man's responsibility. Man has the responsibility to believe in Jesus Christ, to repent and serve the Lord. (“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13.) Man must call on the Lord. That's his responsibility, this includes repentance from sin and to turn in faith to Jesus Christ to love Him, and in that turning to Christ, man then follows in discipleship living out His commandments. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep my command-ments” (John 14:15). This faith and repentance is God’s gracious gift (Eph. 2:8-9).

Both of these doctrines are taught in the Bible. They must be taught with equal weight, with equal proportion. If we neglect one, we damage both. If we try to present halvs-ies of each, (God’s part and man’s part), we lose both. The Bible holds these two truths as mates, as parallel points, and equal in importance. They are set in Scripture side by side.

And they work together in such a way, that only God knows their finest, detailed inner-workings; this is mysterious. In this, we're taught that God is big enough, wise enough, to figure out their exact relationship; we cannot. We leave the finer inner-workings of these things to Him (Deut. 29:29).

Now, specifically to answer your question: In the case of Matthew 23:37 as you quoted, Jesus issues His offer to save Jerusalem. The offer is genuine, well-meant, gracious and loving. It's tender. The Lord is seen here as a hen, a mother. This indicates warm-hearted affection. Yet in His offer, He remains the Sovereign Savior, the One in complete control of Jerusalem and the actions of this city's men and women. Some might see our Lord’s offer in light of Jerusalem’s refusal as disingenuous, that He only looks as if He’s desirous of her repentance. But the Bible doesn’t use language in Matthew 23:27 indicating an appearance or surface exhibition of His will to save. Rather, the duplication of Jerusalem, with the sigh, “O Jerusalem,” indicates sincerity. Here, the two important truths from above line up side by side: His Sovereign will desirous to save, man’s responsibility to repent.

Jerusalem's unwillingness to be gathered to the Lord is their choice. The freedom they choose to exercise as an unwilling people is freedom that they themselves express. From this, we learn that men and women have a will, and they have the ability to choose what they desire. Joshua 24:15 says, “…choose for yourselves...”

These ones of Jerusalem, however, are unwilling to be gathered to Him (Matthew 23:37), because they do not have the desire to come to Jesus. They don't have the desire to repent, and that's what the Bible teaches about sinful man being in bondage to his own sin and how he is dead in his sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1-2). Unless God makes the sinner alive to Himself, he will never have a desire to come to Christ.

The whole human race, apart from God's work, has no desire for the Lord, and it cannot come to Christ (Romans 8:8). Man is lost, dead and turned away from Him. It's this very desire, interestingly, that shows such freedom and it keeps men and women away from Christ. Sinful man has freedom to choose what he desires and freedom to refuse what he doesn’t; and he is constantly refusing to come to Christ. It’s precisely as Jesus tells the residents of Jerusalem, “but you were not willing.” They were not willing because God had not given them a desire for Christ. Their sinful ways—in this case, their spite and hatred for the prophets—showed their hardness, and God had given them what they wanted: coldness about Jesus.

So, what does God do to bring some to salvation, to bring them to desire salvation? He decides, He determines that for some of the lost He provides His work of predestinating grace. Before the beginning of time, He put His love on those He wills to save. In the course of their human existence, He works in them to change their desire about Christ and His saving love. This is the work of grace. It’s grace at work in the inner man. The Bible teaches that God's way of controlling men and women and their choices, actions, and decisions does not violate their freedom, but it does change their freedom to a freedom that chooses Christ. Their will is not coerced or manipulated or controlled as like a puppet on a string. But it is made free drawing the lost sinner, nurturing the lost sinner to come and take freely of Christ. God must give him a new heart, with new desires, and new choices.

How does God work in the heart and will of a man changing his desire and choice and willingness---without coercion or manipulation? I do not know. The Bible presents the fact that God works this way, but how? I do not know. But what we can say is that the Bible teaches that it’s done in such a way that God remains completely in control, and man's freedom is genuinely his freedom (see for example, Phil. 2:12-13). God works in the heart, man is acted on, and that same man is freely made willing without coercion. This is the mysterious part. God remains God drawing the sinner to Himself (John 6:44); and man freely chooses to come, and freely, he takes of the water of life (Revelation 22:17). Again, a mystery of God's gracious ways!

“...work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13). What a verse! It’s the blend of man's responsibility and God's complete, sovereign, work.

Is this sovereign way of God fair? We often wonder about fairness. We must remember to ask, does God owe anyone anything? He's the Sovereign One. He's the Creator. He's the One who is in charge of all things and all men and women. Particularly we wonder, if God is willing to work grace in the hearts of some men and women and change their desire to choose Him, why doesn't He do that for all, for every last human? We have to answer, “We don't know why He's that way; it’s His good pleasure.” And this points us to grace. He gives grace because He wishes to give grace. We must note this: Just because He determines to grant grace to some does not require Him to supply saving grace to all. Grace is grace. Grace is never required; grace is God's good way of giving a new heart to whom He will. Amazing grace! The apostle Paul taught in speaking of God's determination to work in some and not in all: “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy” (Romans 9:15). God answers to no one.

As Jesus cried out to men of Jerusalem in His day, still He cries to all today, “Come.” And the Bible summons all, requiring all to repent and believe in Him. Anyone who calls on Him shall be saved. God so works His will for salvation and in His working, sinful man freely wants it. Come, take of the water of life this day! Amen!

This has been super long. Your question has been seen in Christendom as a crucial one; it’s a question for the ages, and needs thoughtful work from the Bible. I hope this helps.


G. Mark Sumpter

Part Time Pop Christian Culture Scholar

We’re glued to the tube. We look and listen with interest. We, of the evangelical and reformed wing, take note of the popular Christian in the culture. Bono from U2 interviews with Christianity Today yet another time about world hunger and the church’s impotence, and like three heads on the park bench that slowly turn to watch the obese granny bend over to give her toy poodle a treat, we stop, stare and hold our breath.

Next it’s Andy Pettitte, presently a pitcher with the New York Yankees, who speaks into the microphone in the post-game wrap-up and we listen for the favored morsels of testimony, "The Lord Jesus gave me the overpowering curve and other stuff tonight."

Why are we so enamored with the center-stage Christian speaking into the culture? Maybe it’s because we sympathize with them and the anti-Christ pressure they feel in their places of limelight. They’ve earned their stripes, we think. What they have to say is well-forged, well-tested, and tried and true. They’re in the trenches of the real battle. "Listen in fellow Christian," we say to one another, "their life counts." Or maybe we pay attention to the commentary of the testimony and verbiage of Christian witness via the popular Christian personalities of entertainment because we measure success by such persons and their standards. They’ve made it big, and we want to make it big. Big? How? They are talented at what they do, we long for the same talent. They’ve worked their fannies off, we wish we had their energy. They get handsomely rewarded monetarily, yes, there’s seeming security when carrying around a few Gs in the pocketbook. They have a following, we wouldn’t mind the attention. They have a stage with a little glitz for speaking for Christ, and ours is almost altogether obscure. When a Christian makes it to the World Series or the Olympics, or sings mezzo-soprano with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, we pay attention to their walk and talk. They are in some way our teachers, and we want to be like them.

Should we take our cue from such Christians? We’re grateful for the popular teachers, but a faithful cue can be found close, right at home. There’s biblical reinforcement for the witness of the obscure life of Joe Christian Plumber. What’s the reinforcement, the equipping we need? It’s public worship, not public testimony. The world is, as Reformer John Calvin argued, the theater of God's glory. The heavens do declare the glory of God and the firmament does show forth His handiwork. The world is His theater; we can see the work of His hand, in additional to the wonders of creation around us, in the variety of persons, popular Christian ones at that. But in scripturally-mandated worship He’s the Actor within a theater of the public assembly of His people. It’s not near as lime-light fancy.

But listen to Mike Horton:

"Imagine the worship service as a magnificent theater of divine action. There is the pulpit, lofty and grand - this is God's balcony from which He conducts the drama. Beneath it is the baptismal font, where the announcement, 'the promise is for you and for your children' is fulfilled. Also prominent is the communion table, where weak and disturbed consciences 'taste and see that the Lord is good.' That which God has done to, for, and within his people in the past eras of biblical history he is doing here, now, for us, sweeping us into the tide of his gracious plan...

God has promised to save and keep his people through the means he has appointed and through no other; the ordinary means of grace are limited to the preached Word and the administered sacraments; God's rationale for these means is made explicit in Scripture. There are many other things that are essential for Christian growth: prayer, Bible study, service to others. However, these are not, properly speaking, means of grace but means of discipleship.

…God is savingly present among us through Word and sacrament. We need props to strengthen our faith, but we dare not invent our own, as Israel did at Mount Sinai, when Aaron's lame excuse for the golden calf was, "You know how the people are." Only in glory will we no longer need faith, since hope will dissolve into sight. There will be no more promises, no more anticipation. But for now God has given us his means of grace to ensure that the method of delivery as well as the method of redemption itself is his alone. Here in the wilderness God has given us both the preached Word and the visible Word (baptism and the Supper). Here is God's drama, the liturgy of life, in which God acts in saving grace and we respond in faith and repentance. Even our architecture is to be conscious of this mission to proclaim God's method of grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, delivered in the church alone, through the means of grace alone. Donald Bruggink and Carl Droppers offer a charge that could apply to any Reformation church: 'To set forth the God-ordained means by which Christ comes to his people, the Reformed must give visual expression to the importance of both Word and Sacraments. Any architecture worthy of scriptural teaching must start with the Christ who calls men unto himself through the Word and Sacraments.' In the divine drama, the 'set' is not insignificant."

See Horton’s chapter, "Setting the Stage" from A Better Way, Baker Books, 2002.

The popular witness of the Christian via countless marketplace and entertainment venues, made visible and attractive in many ways by various stories, ads, and wear, have a place for effective testimony, but they work on us causing a shrinkage of the priority and importance of public worship. God has His theater for His own attention-getting witness. He comes to be Actor each Sunday when Christians gather. He tells His own wonders through their praise, prayer, reading, teaching and by meeting with them to host His meal. Such a corporate testimony makes outsiders stop and take notice (1 Corinthians 14:25). It is God’s primary witness before the watching world. Psalm 8 has it, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger."

G. Mark Sumpter

Faith OPC Grants Pass, OR

G. Mark Sumpter

Olson Preface Review, Part 1

I have too many books going right now. The little kid, being candy-store-showcase height, staring in at 19 different colors of jellybeans comes to mind: which one or two or three candies do I choose to devour? I've been thinking about settling into one for study and note-taking. The one book I've chosen is Roger E. Olson's 246-page Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities from Inter Varsity Press, copyright 2006.

I spoke for while with a Methodist minister last week, met him over in Medford. Grants Pass sets slightly north and west of Medford, about a 30 minute drive. I told him that I was raised a Methodist as a young boy down in South Louisana, and then later up in Anchorage. I enjoyed speaking with him about his seminary days and the different parishes where he served. He had had several pulpits along the way, and now is a retired man. As he spoke, my appreciation grew for his many years of working with people. I could tell by his gracious and wise speech that his life had been seasoned with people and their pain. We hit it off a little when we shared a few stories of our Methodism.

Running into this Methodist minister stirred me to give another look at Olson's book. I had been dabbling in it since September but hadn't given it the kind of attention it deserved. I imagine that this study through Arminian Theology will take me a good season or two of life, about like a pack mule carrying victuals and other provisions from St. Louis to Seattle, let's say in the year of 1859. I plan to be here awhile.

Let's get a start. On the opening page of the preface we read a little of Olson's childhoood:

I have always been an Arminian. I was raised in a Pentecostal preacher's home, and my family was most definitely and proudly Arminian. I don't remember when I first heard the term. But it first sunk into my consciousness when a well-known charismatic leader of Amenian background rose to prominence. My parents and some of my aunts and uncles (missionaries, pastors and denominational leaders) distinguished between Armenian and Arminian...I recall sitting in a college theology class and the professor reminded us that we are Arminians, to which one student muttered loudly, 'Who would want to be from Armenia?'

Two comments.

1) This book is written by a red-church-punch drinking church-kid who's dad was a preacher. Olson was the proverbial PK who would be found downstairs in the fellowship hall right after the evening service putting his little grubbies on 5 or 6 sugar cubes so that he could put one in his mouth and drop the other five in his red punch. He also says, "my family was most definitely and proudly Arminian." OK. This is good for me. It's high-time to read about and study Arminianism from a man who's been around Arminian theology all of his life. More on this later.

2) Note well Olson's italicized print in the quote above. There's a world of difference between the two words, Arminian and Armenia. I heard folks all the time getting them confused when I worked for Evangelical Bible Book Store at Westminster Seminary California back in the 80s. Listen how Olson addresses this commonplace confusion on page 13 of his Introduction, "Arminianism has nothing to do with the country of Armenia. Most people mispronounce the word as if it were somehow associated with the central Asian country Armenia. The confusion is understandable because of the purely accidental similarity between the theological label and the geographical one. Arminians are not from Armenia. Arminianism derives from the name Jacob (or James) Arminius (1560-1609)...Arminius...was a Dutch theologian who had no ancestral lineage in Armenia." So, Olson himself straightens out the mix up about the country and the theology. He's spot on helping us to get off on the right foot.

G. Mark Sumpter

A Soldier, Faithful and True

James Shelvy Jones
Home with Jesus
November 13, 2008

Dear Kelly, Willow and Holly,

God brought me into contact with your beloved husband and wonderful father in the summer of 2006. He caught my eye as he was ministering to people with gospel literature in a crowded area at Riverside Park in Grants Pass. I watched him with great interest. He was that soldier, with satchel strapped to his side, carrying munitions, the truth, to those in the battlefield of the world. When he looked as though he was finished, I sauntered over to him.

"Hi," my name is Mark Sumpter. "I'm Jim, Jim Jones."

"Jim, may I have one of your booklets?"

"Notta problem, in fact, take 10 or 15 and give them away," Jim's face brightened as he gave me the tracts.

That started my relationship with Jim Jones, a blessed fool for Christ and a soldier-ambassador.

Jim and I met for the next 3-4 months, nearly every Saturday, going downtown in Grants Pass talking to people about the Lord Jesus Christ, just as we see him doing in the picture above. He was my mentor. He helped me to keep an eye on that most-needful work of gospel witness to the lost of Grants Pass.

God so wonderfully and generously gifted Jim with humor; he genuinely was able to put people at an emotional rest for 20 or 30 minutes in order for the gospel to be clearly explained. I was stunned with his disarming ways. He was witty in his witness, and he was a straight-shooter about man's law-breaking ways; and he was a straight-shooter with respect to gladly telling sinners where solid, lasting hope and joy may be found. He boldly and clearly presented Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jim's way of opening the message of Christ, I saw it on several occasions, was to be in the Bible, literally, to open the Word and read and teach and explain. In his way of cracking open the Bible to teach the Scriptures, he drew in inquirers.

Kelly, I cannot reach through this screen to offer a hug. And Willow and Holly, I cannot share your physical tears at this moment. Jesus alone, the one of Whom Jim spoke so confidently, never will leave you, and never will forsake you. The Lord is your Shepherd, He will lead you beside quiet waters and into green pastures. He will watch over and keep you soul. Our love through Jesus Christ is yours. We pour out intercessory prayer for you, for your comfort in your loss.

Your husband and father, and our brother, has gone home to be with His Lord, the Captain of the fight. My blessed Christian friend, Jim Jones, will be long-remembered in my heart. God gave the church of the Lord Jesus Christ here in the Rogue Valley a tremendous gift in Jim for these years. God gave to me Jim's example of fervor and zeal for preaching Christ. I will never forget his life and ministry. God is so very good.

O may thy soldiers faithful, true and bold
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Blessed be the glorious name of our God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our great God gave Jim Jones and He has now taken him home to glory.

Through Christ, Who is our Living Hope and Blessed Redeemer,

G. Mark Sumpter, Pastor
Faith Presbyterian Church/Grants Pass

Calvin Face to Face

Back in 1981, I read these words: "the average local church in the U.S. barely has one nostril out of the water...and with Reformed churches in most cases, [they are] experiencing the same nosedive."

What's gone wrong? Why the nosedive?

That quote comes from Jack Miller's Evangelism and Your Church. Miller goes on to address what he calls a theology of missionary expectancy. And from what example does he draw to showcase missionary expectancy? Why, it's that staunch, crusty and doctrinaire Professor of Sacred Scripture-guy named John Calvin. It was the lofty scholar and trumpeter of Sovereign Election.

Miller writes, "Calvin was not slow to translate his own missionary vision into action. During the years 1555 to 1562, 88 men were trained and commissioned by Calvin as pastors to France. Additional works established in Holland and Scotland by men trained by Calvin were greatly blessed. In Scotland, the response to Christ was so overwhelming that one contemporary observed that 'the sky rained men.'"

88 men trained for church ministry, church planting and missionary work.

Contemporary British pastor Erroll Hulse corroborates:

"There may have been more than 88. Historical research is hampered by the fact that everything in that period was done in a secretive way for security reasons. Also we must account for many short term missions into France. Those who were ordained and sent out as church planters were exceptionally gifted men…Of these missionaries those who were not already accredited pastors were obliged to conform to rigorous standards set up by Calvin. The moral life of the candidate, his theological integrity and his preaching ability were subject to careful examination. With regard to moral discipline a system was established by which the pastors were responsible to each other. There was an exacting code listing offences that were not to be tolerated in a minister. Offenses in money, dishonesty or sexual misconduct meant instant dismissal…Only when Calvin judged a man to possess the necessary fiber and stamina would he be sent into France to preach and plant churches. Each church began by a group gathering in a home, and then out of that a fully disciplined church would be constituted. Such was termed 'a dressed church'. In 1555 there was only one 'dressed church'. Seven years later, in 1562, there were 2150 such churches!"

See the article by Hulse, “John Calvin and His Missionary Enterprise.”

Pray for your pastor to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be under the influence of the life-transforming message of Jesus Christ, and to preach and shepherd with the vision of missionary expectancy. "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." May 2 Corinthians 5:20 be our signature.

G. Mark Sumpter

Road Stories

THE LOVES OF HIS LIFE

Even before she told Jim Bryant, "I do," on their wedding day in March of 1999, Vickie Bryant knew there were facts of life she would have to accept as the wife of an owner-operator. She knew she'd go days without seeing her husband. She'd also have to help him make ends meet by managing his road expenses. And she knew full well that she would have a rival for her husband's affections, a Peterbilt Model 379...See story here:
http://www.peterbilt.com/roadstories.aspx

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.2

There’s more to life than chocolate, but not right now.
-Anonymous



G. Mark Sumpter

Old Testament Archaeology

Archaeologists found this old Hebrew script near the O.T. Valley of Elah, near the place of David's conquering of Goliath. The news about this ancient text hit the world's papers about 10-12 days ago. The activity of digging up old ostracon like this one gets big-time attention! Ostracon is a broken potsherd that was used for ancient Syria-Israelite writing. See the full BBC story about this discovery here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7700037.stm One OT scholar says it appears the script comes from the time of David, and that it is the oldest Israelite inscription yet found. Like all archaeological findings, accuracy on dating and matters of the relative importance of the discovery get top-shelf attention. Let the debates begin! This inscription was found about 12 miles south-west of Jerusalem.

G. Mark Sumpter

Front Door Youth Ministry

Front Door Youth Ministry accents the importance of public worship for discipleship for covenant children, youth and their families. It means that our worship elements of singing, prayer, preaching, reading of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments all express a nuturing role in their discipling influence so that each one, great and small, enthrone the Triune Lord with worship from body and soul. In America, it's been the black church that has led the way in Front Door Youth Ministry, and largely it's been the choir that's been the practical training vehicle for this. You look around at evangelical African-American churches on the US landscape, and you'll note that their choirs have most faithfully served as the means through which every-generation worship is offered. It's young and old, skilled and less skilled, wiser and less that lead the way, and it's the choir that's winsomely modeled the make-up of the church. It's worship-based, front-door ministry. For the past three or four generations in our country this has been the youth group of choice for our black brethren. Here, too, our brothers have much to teach us.

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.1

"Everyone flatters himself and carries a kingdom in his breast."

Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life
John Calvin


G. Mark Sumpter

Issachar Commentary.1

1 Chronicles 12:32
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

[E]xit poll of voters showed single women were a decisive factor in Barack Obama's historic victory. If not for the overwhelming support of unmarried women, John McCain would have won the women's vote and with it, the White House," said the international research firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. Tuesday night, unmarried women supported the Democratic candidate by a stunning 70 to 29 percent margin, the firm said in a summary of its calculations, based on the Edison/Mitofsky National Election Pool published by CNN. From World Net Daily

Why did President-elect Obama carry the unmarried female vote? I went over to the intersection in Grants Pass at the corners of Imagination Boulevard and Probably Avenue, here's what women had to say:

1. "He's got charisma."


2. "He's about me and the Hollywood camp of the young and restless."


3. "Hey, my body is my body...he says he'll protect me and my reproductive rights."


4. "The greatest generation had their day, and Viet Nam, well...Barack shows me a different kind of bravery."


5. "It's not about pro-life, it's not about homosexuality, and it's not about same-sex marriage. It's about getting along...he wants to get along."


6. "He reminds me of the famous line in Twilight, 'Forever. Begins. Now.'"


7. "Any President who can text message and sign it, 'Barack,' gets my vote."


8. "This is our moment, our time."


9. "I don't know, I just did it."


10. "He'll take care of my kids...he'll take care of me."


G. Mark Sumpter

Liturgy and Life

Covenant Seminary Prof, Jack Collins rightly conveys from Genesis:

"God made a good world as the arena for man to live out his relationship with his Maker. Though mankind has fallen, the goodness of the creation remains the arena for man's life--but now it is the arena for redemption. The ordinary activities of life, such as eating, working, procreating, and breathing are good. Any pain that man finds in these stems not from from badness of the activities but from the sinfulness of man. Physical ordinances are a fitting means for God to work out his purposes for his people: he ordains sacrifices, beautiful garments for his priests, and an elaborate shrine for corporate worship, with 'smells and bells' in the liturgy. The people use their bodies, bowing, kneeling, prostrating themselves, raising hands, and so forth, in their act of worship."

"Indeed, the three main festivals of the liturgical calendar are connected with the agricultural calendar: Passover with the barley harvest, Pentecost with the wheat harvest and the first fruits, and Tabernacles (or Booths) with the autumn fruit harvest. It is no contradiction, however, that they are also connected with events in redemptive history: Passover with the Exodus from Egypt, Tabernacles with the wandering in the wilderness, and--later; anyhow--Pentecost with the giving of the law at Sinai. The God who created is the same God who redeemed Israel and made a covenant with her; and faithful adherence to the covenant enables God's people to enjoy the creation."

From his book, Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary and Theological Commentary, p. 244

G. Mark Sumpter