Seriously Happy in the Local Church

Fruitful Discipleship

“Serious Christians know they need discipleship; they want to be faithful to make a difference. But the fact is, even Christians who understand their personal identity as followers of Christ will not make a widespread difference in the decline and decay around us—unless we have a high view of our corporate identity as the body of Christ… Many Christians have been infested with the most virulent virus of modern American life…They concentrate on personal obedience to Christ as if all that matters is ‘Jesus and me,’ but in so doing miss the point altogether…Christianity, as history demonstrates, depends on a reawakening and renewal of that which is the essence of the faith—that is, the people of God, the new society, the body of Christ, which is made manifest in the world—the Church…there is no such thing as Christianity apart from the church.” Chuck Colson, The Body, p. 32.

G. Mark Sumpter

James Ussher Born January 4, 1581

Stalwart in Reformed Tradition Dates the Origin of the Earth 4004 B.C.

James Ussher, the Irish-born linguist, scholar, pastor-theologian and Anglican Archbishop, was born January 4, 1581. He was reared in Calvinism, and at 13 years of age entered Trinity College of Dublin.

In 1615, Ussher wrote the Irish Articles of Religion which served as the basis of the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Catechisms. A.A. Hodge in his Evangelical Theology said this about Ussher’s influence: “[His book] had more to do in forming the Catechism and Confession of Faith than any other book in the world…”

Ussher is likely most remembered for his scholarly analysis of the genealogies of the Book of Genesis which led him to date the origin of the earth at 4004 B.C.

The study of the Bible’s chronology was published in his massive The Annals of the Old Testament, first printed in London in 1650. He later added a second part to the volume which focused on the later Old Testament times up to the Apostolic era with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Ones like William Shakespeare, Reformer Martin Luther and Astronomer Johannes Kepler espoused similar views as Ussher’s regarding the age of the earth.

There’s the story of a London bookseller Thomas Guy who in 1675 began printing Bibles with Ussher’s study notes and dates printed in the margin. The Church of England in the early 1700s adopted Ussher’s dates for use in its official Bible. From 1700-1900, Ussher’s studies and chronological dates were routinely cited in Bibles and were thought to carry the weight of biblical authority.

Happy Birthday, Mr Ussher.

G. Mark Sumpter

Thank List from 2010, Part 1

Give Thanks!

The church’s—Faith OPC—ministry to Cameron, a dear young man with severe mental developmental issues; the congregation has been stellar—he’s a gift from Christ to our body

Seeing C.J. Stretch, a first-line Center last year, of the Kamloops Blazers and his breakaway goal that sealed his team's victory—February 3rd

The Master’s Touch, an orchestra ensemble ministry of 21-22 youths and adults, who accompanied a Good Friday worship service in Roseburg, OR

The new vision-casting and organizational advancement of Pacific Bible College of Medford, OR under the hand of President Mike Robinson

The head-turning milestone for the Grants Pass Gospel Rescue Mission to see God’s Hand forward the move into the men’s residence; and along the same line, the gracious provision of Emilio to replace Pastor Keith Heck as Executive Director

The newly established hands-on learning and fellowship ministry called the Rogue Valley Christian Film Club

Bear Creek Community Church of Medford, OR, and their faithful modeling for the rest of us in the Rogue Valley on a solid ministry to the weak

G. Mark Sumpter

Faced with God in History

God, the Author of History, uses His appointed means for grace and life

“The gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us in some detail how the Son of God came into this world. He was born outside a small hotel in an obscure Jewish village in the great days of the Roman Empire. The story is usually prettyfied when we tell it Christmas by Christmas, but it is really beastly and cruel. He reason why Jesus was born outside the hotel is that it was full and nobody would offer a bed to a woman in labour, so that she has to have her baby in the stables, and cradle him in a cattle-trough. The story is told dispassionately and without comment, but no thoughtful reader can help shuddering at the picture of callousness and degradation that it draws. It is not, however, to draw moral lessons from this that the evangelists tell the story. For them the point of the story lies not in the circumstances of the birth (save the one respect to fulfillment of prophecy, but taking place in Bethlehem: see Matthew 2;1-6) but rather in the identity of the baby.”

J. I. Packer in Knowing God, p. 47.

We look back when God’s Arm brought about His work of His salvation. So many texts of the Old Testament tell us of this One to come—we learn of His identity.

Our God is faithful. He speaks His promises; He works His wonders to perform.

His work in history tells of God’s commitment to use His appointed means of saving. Jesus Christ, therefore, is more than a mere topic of the Old Testament! God slowly unfolds more and more glimpses of His invasion into history. He makes use of persons, circumstances and the resulting consequences—what’s the point? God is actively confronting His people and the world with His living, creative, powerful and overtaking ways. He is Actor in history! His act in history becomes clear with the dawn of the New Testament.

Read here the prophetic backdrop of the Story—points of His name and lineage:

1. Jesus Christ is first spoken of in the proto¬-evangelium: the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15; Matthew 1:18).


2. He is the Coming One who would crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 2:14).


3. His title, Son, was given to Him (Psalm 2:7; Isa. 9:6; Luke 1:32-35).


4. He would be born the seed of Abraham (Genesis 22:16-18; Galatians 3:16).


5. He would be born the seed of Isaac (Genesis 21:12; Hebrews 11:18).


6. He would be born the seed of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Hebrews 7:14).


7. He would be born the seed of David (Psalm 132:11; Jeremiah 23:5; Acts 13:23; Romans 1:3).

G. Mark Sumpter