In May I preached three messages on church leadership

Now this month, we come back to the theme of leadership in the church, as 1 Corinthians 9 picks up some of these crucial themes. However, Paul is not merely digressing to complete what he left unsaid in 1 Corinthians 4. Rather, he is using his ministry as an example of self-denial for the good of others. At the same time, he is defending his apostleship against the examiners in Corinth.

In this way, 1 Corinthians 9 reveals how gospel-centered ministers and gospel-centered churches work together to announce the good news of Jesus Christ. This week’s sermon focuses on the rights of gospel minister; next week we will (Lord willing) consider the second half of Paul’s argument, the rights he refused for the sake of the gospel.

You can listen to the sermon here, read the sermon notes here, or discuss the questions and resources below. Continue reading →

15 Disciplines of a Loving Church (1 Corinthians 5–7)

August 1, 2016August 1, 2016 / davidsschrock

After spending the last eight weeks (June — July) looking at Paul’s instructions on sex, singleness, marriage, divorce and remarriage in 1 Corinthians 5–7, we pulled back the lens yesterday to see how these three chapters inform our understanding of church discipline. As Jonathan Leeman argues in The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love, “local church membership and discipline . . . define God’s love for the world” (17).

In our sermon, we too considered from the text of 1 Corinthians how a church displays love through church discipline. If this sounds like a contradiction in terms, please listen to or read the sermon and read this article on objections to church discipline.

(If you are still not convinced, order Leeman’s book and a set of steak knives. The fusion of holy love and church life is a feast to consider, but it is not for the faint of heart. It is not a milky doctrine but true meat for the maturing disciple). Continue reading →

Words of Wisdom to Those (Still) Waiting to Be Wed (1 Corinthians 7:25–40)

July 24, 2016 / davidsschrock / 1 Comment

“Words of wisdom” may be the best way to describe Paul’s counsel concerning singleness in 1 Corinthians 7:25–40. Instead of comprehensive or absolute rules about marriage and singleness, he offers five portraits of marriage for singles and married couples to consider. In these portraits the Spirit-filled man or woman (see 1 Corinthian 2:14–16) can discern how to apply God’s Word to his or her life.

While others (see below) have been more comprehensive in treating the subject of singleness, my sermon sought to follow Paul’s train of thought and apply his words to singles, especially those contemplating marriage. In all, there are lots of technical question in 1 Corinthians 7, but the singular message is clear: Whether married or single, do all things to the glory of God, leveraging your position in life to know Christ and make him known. This is what it means to walk in wisdom, whatever your vocation.

You can listen to the audio from Sunday’s message or read the sermon notes here. For those who want to go deeper, there are discussion questions below and links to a few other resources (articles, sermons, books) on 1 Corinthians 7 and the topic of singleness. Continue reading →

‘Married for God, Divorced for Good?’ (1 Corinthians 7:10–16)

July 11, 2016October 15, 2018 / davidsschrock

First Corinthians 7:10–16 brings us to one of the most heart-wrenching passages in Scripture. As it deals with marriage, divorce, and remarriage, it gives counsel to Christian marriages (vv. 10–11) and “mixed marriage” (vv. 12–16) that are looking into the teeth of divorce. In the context of a horribly sad week (#AltonSterling, #PhilandoCastille, and #DallasPoliceShooting), I bookended this sermon with the gospel truth that God comforts those who are broken by sin. My prayer is that as God’s truth is declared, it brings clarity and comfort.

You can listen to the audio from Sunday’s message or peruse the sermon notes here. For those who want to go deeper, there are discussion questions below and resources explaining the Majority and Minority position on divorce and remarriage. Continue reading →

The Cross of Christ Shapes Every Area of Life

March 14, 2016March 14, 2016 / davidsschrock

Yesterday, I preached on “The Wisdom of the Cross” from 1 Corinthians 1:18–25. While most of the message concentrated on the doctrinal message of the cross and its radical contrast to way the world approaches life (i.e., man’s wisdom), I closed the sermon with a handful of quick applications, listed below.

For the church, the cross must be our shared story that shapes our communion.

In our preaching, we must make Christ the natural end of every sermon. (Luke 24:27; John 5:39; Ephesians 3:10)
In our worship, we must center our songs on the shed blood of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 5:9–11)
In our relationships, the cross must be the source of all unity, reconciliation, grace, and forgiveness. (Colossians 3:13)
In our evangelism, the cross must be our singular and uncompromising message. (1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 2:14–17)
In our endurance, the cross must be our model and the source of strength. (Hebrews 12:3)

For individuals, the cross must be the wisdom that shapes every area of our lives.

In your hour of decision, let the self-sacrifice of Christ crucify your false desires; let the promise of resurrection embolden you to take God-honoring risks. (Luke 9:23–27)
In your hour of temptation, remember you are already dead to sin; sin no longer has dominion over you. (Romans 6)
In your hour of faith, praise Christ for purchasing your belief and obedience. (Ezekiel 36:26–27; Ephesians 2:8–9)
In your hour of failure, look again to the cross for your pardon and acceptance. (1 John 1:9–2:2)
In your hour of prayer, come boldly before God because of Christ’s blood. (Hebrews 4:14–16)

As we go into the week, may we give praise to God for Christ’s work on the cross. And may we continue to center our lives on Christ and his cross. As Paul teaches he is not an additive to our already full lives; he is the wisdom of God to bring our lives in conformity to God’s will.

May Jesus receive all praise and glory, as we live with ever-deepening dependence on the wisdom and power of the cross.

Soli Deo Gloria, ds

The Goodness of God in What He Does

November 22, 2011 / davidsschrock / 2 Comments

In Exodus 33:18, Moses makes one of the most audacious requests in all the Bible. After Israel is nearly destroyed and replaced by a people coming from Moses’ offsprings, Moses asks the God of the Passover and the Red Sea to show him his glory. Amazingly, God responds in the affirmative.

In Exodus 33:19-34:7, God reveals his glory through the revelation of his goodness and his glory. Today, we will look at the goodness of what God does; tomorrow, we will consider the greatness of God’s name.

Notice three ways that God’s goodness is revealed in Exodus 33.

God Who Listens and Speaks (33:19). The first thing to notice in the character of God is that he hears Moses prayer. He listens and he speaks. He doesn’t ignore Moses prayers, but he answers with specificity. God’s goodness is seen in this reply.

However, notice what God listens to. He is not simply responding to a request for personal help, or a plea for personal safety, comfort, or assistance. He hears and answers prayers most powerfully, when the suppliant is coming with a heart that longs first and foremost to make Christ famous. This is not to say that supplications for “my needs” are not legitimate, but they should be secondary to the greater design of prayer for God’s kingdom and glory.

God loves to answer prayers that glorify his name and that satisfy his saints in him. Just consider the “Lord’s Prayer.” In Matthew 6, Jesus is asked how they should pray, and in “The Lord’s Prayer,” he doesn’t begin with small, physical, prayers that orbit around people; he begins with audacious prayers that ask God to do what only he can do. Thus, Jesus’ prayer, like Moses prayer, calls us to ask God to show off his glory on earth as it is in heaven. The very first command is one that essentially pleas that God who sanctify or glorify his name! When Jesus tells us to pray for the coming of the kingdom, this is a request for God’s glory to come in tangible form to the earth–now and forever.

All in all, Moses’ prayer, Jesus’ prayer, and our prayer can be lifted with confidence because God’s goodness hears and answers. Yet, the heart of prayer is one that focuses on God and his glory, as seen in his goodness, more than simply asking God to do good things for us.

Returning to the model of our Lord’s prayer, the requests for daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil all come after we have oriented ourselves towards God. Prayer that is Christian puts the goals, desires, and demands of God above our own. The safety, security, health, and help we request should desired as they fulfill his plans and purposes. Goodness is putting God at the center, and God-centered prayers are the ones God delights to answer.

The God who Protects and Provides (33:20-23). Next, in verse 20, YHWH tells Moses that he cannot see his face, because he would die, but in the same breath, he makes way for Moses to experience God’s glory. Verse 21-23, God puts Moses in the cleft of the rock, covers him to protect him, and then shows him the train of his glory. Amazingly, verse 23 uses three body parts to describe God: Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.

The body-language is metaphorical–because God does not have a body—but it emphasizes the personal closeness that Moses felt as God spoke to him. Still, the point of this passage is not for us to replicate the experience of seeing God on a mountain, but to receive the Word given to Moses at that time. The God of Sinai is the same yesterday, today, and forever; but the way he has revealed himself is not always the same. In Exodus 33-34, we see God’s goodness in the way he reveals himself and protects Moses from an over exposure. Today, we have a greater revelation and a greater protection in our mediator, Jesus Christ. What God does in type with Moses, he does in actuality with Jesus. In Jesus, we see the glory of the Lord, we hear God’s ultimate word, and we have safe passage into the very presence of God. We are not sequestered into a rocky cleft; we are able to stand upon the temple mount and abide with God.

In this way, the goodness experience by Moses, though more cinematically-captivating, is less than the goodness we now have in the fullness of God’s plans in redemptive history. Such goodness beckons us to forsake sin and press on towards him!

The God who Gives His Law (34:1-4). Finally, since the tablets were broken, a new set of tablets was needed. Thus, in Exodus 34, Moses is appointed to cut two new stone tablets just like before. This is the first element of God’s revealed law in Exodus 34, but this is not it. Quickly following this charge to rewrite the law, YHWH tells Moses to come into his presence once again (v. 2), and to set a perimeter around the mountain to preserve its holiness and to protect the people (v. 3). Still, God’s law-giving is seen most clearly in the reissue of the covenant laws laid out in the rest of the chapter (vv. 10-35).

These commands which resonate with the earlier instructions in Exodus 19-24, show the consistency of God’s character, and the fact that he never lowers the standard of his law. Instead, he will provide means of grace to allow sinners to dwell in the midst of God’s holiness. Such legal constancy is a revelation of his goodness, for God’s goodness is not just seen in meekness, mirth, and mild treatment of terrorists. His goodness also executes law-breakers.

Can you imagine the alternative? What would a world be like in which moral order was erased? Or a world where God’s expectations were unknown? God’s laws are demanding and absolute, and this is good. In them, God’s wisdom, justice, and love are displayed, and thus the world observes who God is. Which leads to a final consideration: When we come to passage like Exodus 33-34, do we listen to what God is saying? Or do we interpret it in light of our pre-conceived ideas about goodness, justice, and love?

God Is The Standard of His Own Goodness

Too often Christians and non-Christians test God according to their own standards of goodness. This is problematic. God is his own standard. He defines and delimits goodness. Thus what he reveals of his goodness at Sinai and in later installments of inspired revelation must shape and reshape our notions of goodness. In fact, before delighting in his goodness, we probably need to be offended by it!

Offended because, we as fallen creatures are naturally opposed to the God of Scripture and the God of Sinai. What we see at Sinai is that YHWH’s goodness is not mutually exclusive with retributive judgment, is not contradictory with legal demands, and is not simply a universal benevolence towards all people. God’s goodness is distinct, covenantal, particular, and gracious. God’s goodness is given to some and not to others (Exod 33:19). This is how God presents himself! It is offensive to human pride, but glorious to those who have died in Christ.

Failure to understand God’s goodness as he himself presents it will inevitably result in skewed views of God and ultimately Arminian and/or Universalist impressions of how God should act in the world. Right now I am reading a book by such theologian–Roger Olson–whose views relabel and redefine God’s goodness in countless doctrinal categories. As an upcoming book review will show, he and others like him, wrestle little with texts and rest their views upon philosophical inventions of the mind, rather than God’s revealed Word.

Considering Exodus 33-34 makes us take a different path. One that rebukes us mightily for having lethargic views of God’s goodness, but one that opens new vistas of God’s glory. In meditating on Exodus 33:18-34:7 you will find that the God of glory is the God of goodness, and that his goodness is not submitting to any philosophical law of the greater good. God is goodness in justice and mercy, and by his grace, he is revealing that goodness to all who have eyes to see.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss