EChurch@Wartburg – 3.27.16

Welcome to a Gathering of EChurch@Wartburg

On This Glorious Resurrection Sunday!

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=33574&picture=three-crosses-on-a-hillThree Crosses on a Hill

Here is Our Order of Worship

Easter Prayer of St. Hippolytus (AD 190-236)

Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate
Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen
Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing
Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty
Christ is Risen indeed from the dead,
the first of the sleepers,
Glory and power are his forever and ever
Amen

Scripture Reading:  Luke 10:38-42 (NASB Bible Gateway)

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Note:  Wade's sermon delivered on Resurrection Sunday will be featured next weekend.

Easter Prayer: Book of Common Prayer link

How blessed is this day, when earth and heaven are joined and humankind is reconciled to God!
May the light of Jesus shine continually to drive away all darkness.
May Christ, the Morning Star who knows no setting, find his light ever burning in o
ur hearts
-he who gives his light to all creation, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever. 

Amen.

Have a Joyous Resurrection Day! 

Comments

EChurch@Wartburg – 3.27.16 — 18 Comments

  1. Thank you, Wade, for a meaningful teaching on Martha and Mary. I understand (from personal experience) the problem of wanting others to be like us and the need to respect one another’s differences, talents, and ministries.

    I was a bit confused about blaming the “enemy” for the trouble that comes our way after becoming a believer. And if I remember correctly, you related that to Tullian Tchvidjian’s fall from grace in his confession of two sexual affairs with women other than his wife. The reason for my confusion is that Jesus said that these types of carnal sins proceed from one’s heart. To me, that means that the inclination or tendency was present in the heart and acted upon by choice. Blaming Satan seems to place the blame elsewhere.

    Another area of confusion for me is your statement that “until a person realizes another person is not the cause nor the cure for their unhappiness, they will never be healed of that unhappiness.” (my paraphrase) But isn’t that eliminating the “cause and effect” and/or “there are no victims” theories? The actions of others directed toward us do have consequences on our physical, emotional, and sadly our spiritual health. What I’m hearing and could be wrong, is “what did you do to cause that unhappiness within yourself?”

    I realize this may not be the appropriate forum for this lengthy comment and subsequent explanation, but perhaps you might at some later date address this on your blog.

    And finally, I am so blessed to be able to attend EChurch and thank you and Deb from the bottom of my heart. I don’t always post my appreciation, but it means a lot to me and I’ve passed them on to family from time to time so they can be blessed as I am.

  2. Victorious,

    Two excellent questions. Thanks for listening so intently. First, in terms of Tullian, I am in full agreement with your assessment. There are three enemies we all face – “the world, the flesh, and the devil” (the words of the Apostle John). I healing comes from “taking ownership” of one’s sin, and so when I speak of “the enemy” coming after Tullian (and us), I mean the triumvirate enemy of the world, the flesh and the devil. Ultimately, we choose our sin and healing comes from taking ownership of our choices, so we are saying the same thing.

    Second, your paraphrase of what I said is pretty accurate. I am of the firm conviction that until we all get to the place where we don’t see others as “the cause or the cure” for our unhappiness, we will never find the solution for what troubles us. Yes, people do cause pain – but I’ve seen a great number of people endure pain with joy because they have realized that nobody has the power over their lives in terms of happiness and joy except Christ.

    Happy Easter, Victorious!

    Wade

  3. Wade Burleson wrote:

    Second, your paraphrase of what I said is pretty accurate. I am of the firm conviction that until we all get to the place where we don’t see others as “the cause or the cure” for our unhappiness, we will never find the solution for what troubles us. Yes, people do cause pain – but I’ve seen a great number of people endure pain with joy because they have realized that nobody has the power over their lives in terms of happiness and joy except Christ.

    If another adult person is the cause of pain to another adult why “endure it with joy” when it is more sane to get away from them and warn others.

    Endure it with joy sounds like Piper.

  4. To the reader looking for a NJ non Neo Cal church in Louisville: Good luck

    At this point, the only Baptist ones are CBF churches. Crescent Hill is a decent choice CBF church. It does not seem pastor centered like the Neo Cals are.

    Even Walnut Street has been taken over!

    We have tried several Methodist but many are also going neo Cal hiring SBTS grads who flood the place with Piper, etc, and start talking elder rule.

  5. Wade Burleson wrote:

    mean the triumvirate enemy of the world, the flesh and the devil. Ultimately, we choose our sin and healing comes from taking ownership of our choices, so we are saying the same thing

    Our flesh is not separated from our minds while alive. One of the fruits of the spirit is self control.

  6. __

    Are christian church services becoming more and more simply a form of enertainment? Of compliance vs. coopertive participation? Of observation vs. direct individual involvement; where one senior individual controls the 501c3 non-profit organization’s sanctuary (place of worship) and everyone else is required to play follow the leader for an hour or so?

  7. I’m sure Churches want some idea of keeping records as to who makes up the membership and who are willing to contribute financial and volunteering support;

    but when someone is asked to sign a legal ‘contract’, I would walk away from that very quickly indeed. It is a huge red light that indicated a staff that mistrusts membership so much that a legal document is needed for reassurance . . . not a sign of ‘good will’, no

    Beware the ‘contracts’ and those who would snare people into signing them.

  8. Wade Burleson wrote:

    Yes, people do cause pain – but I’ve seen a great number of people endure pain with joy because they have realized that nobody has the power over their lives in terms of happiness and joy except Christ.

    Thank you for your response, Wade. I’m trying to digest this part of your response about enduring pain with joy, but at the present time it makes no sense to me. Of course it depends on what type of pain one is enduring with joy. I suppose that could be the case in a few specific situations, otherwise I see enduring emotional, physical mistreatment from another person without setting a boundary is not only enabling its continuance, but possibly necessitating psychological, medical, or even legal assistance eventually. And one must not be oblivious to the example they are setting if children are involved and are observing.

    So I do think there may be agreement, but at this time I can’t imagine it without discussing specific situations where endurance brings joy. 🙂

    I hope you had a nice Easter with your family!

  9. “Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” – Hebrews 12:2.

    I think the example Jesus set for us is the pattern. When joy comes from a place untouched by man’s sins against us, the world’s pressures around us, and the flesh’s temptation within us, then we have a joy untouchable by events or people.

  10. Lydia,

    You ask, “If another adult person is the cause of pain to another adult why “endure it with joy” when it is more sane to get away from them and warn others?”

    Great question. It is never my practice to “tell people” what they should do. On the other hand, to tell Hosea to leave Gomer because it is the sane thing to do due to Gomer’s adultery with multiple men, would be more than God was saying to Hosea.

    My point is a simple one: When there is a joy that is independent of the actions of others, then WHATEVER you do, it is always for the other person’s best interest (whether leaving and warning others, or staying and helping others). Again, it’s never my practice to tell people WHAT to do, only to remind them that there is a joy independent of circumstances that nobody else controls.

  11. Wade Burleson wrote:

    I think the example Jesus set for us is the pattern.[/quote]

    Jesus chose to endure for the sake of our salvation. He chose to become the sacrificial lamb. John 10:15-17; Isaiah 53 not only tells of his oppression, judgment, scourging, Jesus would willingly endure for our transgressions, but also says he was a man of sorrows, grief, and his soul was in anguish. That seems to be the missing component in your sermon. A normal, acceptable range of emotion in a normal, acceptable timeframe.

    When joy comes from a place untouched by man’s sins against us, the world’s pressures around us, and the flesh’s temptation within us, then we have a joy untouchable by events or people.

    There is a time for everything… a time for weeping. (Ecc.3) Sorrow and/or anger is a natural and, I might add, a healthy reaction to sin committed against us personally. There is a progression from these to joy, but it doesn’t come until the weeping is exhausted.

    You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness…Psalm 30:11

    Again, I know of no place in the body, soul, and spirit of man that is untouched by sin’s against us or pressures around us. I think what missing in your example is the element of time. Jesus didn’t feel joy while undergoing his suffering. He looked “forward” to the joy of completion following His resurrection. We are able to enter His rest knowing He sympathizes with our weaknesses.

    But to follow the example Jesus set for us in Heb. 12:2, we would need to be willingly, purposely, knowingly accept mistreatment and then be willing to work through the same grief, sorrow, oppression of the soul that He did before arriving at the joy set before us.

  12. Let me try that again…:)

    Wade Burleson wrote:

    I think the example Jesus set for us is the pattern.

    Jesus chose to endure for the sake of our salvation. He chose to become the sacrificial lamb. John 10:15-17; Isaiah 53 not only tells of his oppression, judgment, scourging, Jesus would willingly endure for our transgressions, but also says he was a man of sorrows, grief, and his soul was in anguish. That seems to be the missing component in your sermon. A normal, acceptable range of emotion in a normal, acceptable timeframe.

    When joy comes from a place untouched by man’s sins against us, the world’s pressures around us, and the flesh’s temptation within us, then we have a joy untouchable by events or people.

    There is a time for everything… a time for weeping. (Ecc.3) Sorrow and/or anger is a natural and, I might add, a healthy reaction to sin committed against us personally. There is a progression from these to joy, but it doesn’t come until the weeping is exhausted.

    You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness…Psalm 30:11

    Again, I know of no place in the body, soul, and spirit of man that is untouched by sin’s against us or pressures around us. I think what missing in your example is the element of time. Jesus didn’t feel joy while undergoing his suffering. He looked “forward” to the joy of completion following His resurrection. We are able to enter His rest knowing He sympathizes with our weaknesses.

    But to follow the example Jesus set for us in Heb. 12:2, we would need to be willingly, purposely, knowingly accept mistreatment and then be willing to work through the same grief, sorrow, oppression of the soul that He did before arriving at the joy set before us.

  13. Lydia wrote:

    We have tried several Methodist but many are also going neo Cal hiring SBTS grads who flood the place with Piper, etc, and start talking elder rule.

    In a Methodist church? How is that possible? I’m not doubting you, I just find it incredible that a Methodist church would hire anyone from the SBTS. I wonder what the bishop and the conference leadership think about all this. It will get back to them. Methodist beaucracy can be a bit much, but there’s also someone to step in when things in the local church get out of hand.

  14. @ Wade Burleson:
    I think there is joy when we try alleviate others pain. There is nothing more meaningful than when a other human intervenes on ones behalf. I think that is what Christ intends for us.

  15. Lydia wrote:

    I think they play the point game coming off as more Arminian

    Yep. You’d think they’d know that lying is wrong. This is just one thing that shows how wrong the neo-cal mentality is.

  16. Lydia,

    “I think there is joy when we try alleviate others pain. There is nothing more meaningful than when a other human intervenes on ones behalf. I think that is what Christ intends for us.”

    I agree. Alleviating the pain of others is a divine calling indeed.