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Category: Holiness

He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Holiness. No Comments on He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease

We are just a few days into the new year and by now, you are well on your way to failing accomplishing your New Year’s Resolutions. 

With every new year comes a renewed focus. Some focus on healthier habits, others on exploring new places, while some of us are content with just continuing with what we are already doing. Either way, we love a fresh start; a time to wipe the slate clean and begin again. 

As followers of Christ, we have an opportunity every morning for a fresh start. It’s why we are so grateful for verses like Lamentation 3:22-23

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”.

Every morning we wake up and there waiting for us are new mercies from the One who gave us a clean heart (Psalm 51:10). With these new morning mercies comes a reminder of the faithfulness of God. We look back and see His faithfulness and we look forward and know He will be faithful towards us again. His covenantal, unconditional love for us never ends. Did you catch that? It NEVER ends!

The days we live can be played out in one or two ways. We can make our days (which are very short according to Psalm 90:12 and James 4:14) about ourselves or we can make them about Jesus. Obviously for the Christ follower, the answer is to make our days about Jesus. This is what it means to live for the glory of God. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 10:31

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Just so we’re clear, Paul says that in the mundane things and in everything else, we are to glorify God with our lives. It’s the answer to the beginning question in the Westminster Confession of Faith:

Q: What is the chief end (purpose) of man?

A: To glorify God and to enjoy him forever!

What if we made this our ambition every morning before our feet hit the floor, before our eyes scroll the endless corners of our phones? “Lord, today I will seek to make my day about you and will seek to live out every moment of my day for your glory.” Maybe we could proclaim what John the Baptizer proclaimed about his own life in John 3:30

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

More of Jesus. Less of me. 

Is this not our heart’s ultimate desire? To have more of Jesus than the day before? To know him and the power of His resurrection in our own lives? (Philippians 3:10) To long for the Lord just like a deer longs for water? (Psalm 42:1)

This more-of-Jesus proclamation, this desire to see Jesus increase in our church will be the focus of our next sermon series and will propel us into the focus for the coming year. 

When I say increase, I do not mean church attendance, though, seeing this place close to standing room only is quite thrilling, but the increase I’m praying to see in you and in me, is what John the Baptizer states in John 3:30,

Jesus must increase. I must decrease.

More of Jesus. Less of me.

John the Baptizer was in a very unique ministry. He was called by God to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. His sole job was to point people to Jesus! He did when, earlier in John 1, he proclaimed to the crowd around him, “Behold, the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world!” Though Jesus was now engaging the people, John the Baptizer’s ministry continued, albeit behind the scenes. 

He continued doing what he was called to do. He continued baptizing people and pointing them to Jesus, and when he was questioned about the crowds being baptized and following Jesus, he didn’t make it about himself. Rather, he dug his heels in and said, “More of Jesus. Less of me.” He goes on to tell his followers that Jesus is greater than all, better than all and that He is worth following!

Why? Because John knew, deep within his soul, that Jesus is truly God and he was not. And that is why he stated those seven incredible words, “He must increase, but I must decrease”.

His words are very much to be the model for how we live our own lives. More of you Jesus! Less of me! Yet, so often we get in the way. We want to build ourselves up. We want to increase. We want to live the day for ourselves and not for God’s glory.

My heart for you is to see Christ formed in you. For you to behold all He is. For you to grasp his unchanging, powerful presence in your life. I want to see Jesus increase in you. Not just in one area, but in all areas of your life. When Jesus becomes the increase in us, we are free to remove the things that may take us away from what He has called us to be. 

Jesus will have the increase whether we desire so or not. And yet, He invites us to forsake all that is earthly to focus on the One who comes from above and is above all. This year, we will seek more of Jesus by increasing in matters that he has called us to. I’m praying that in these areas that are often focused on us, we shift to see more of Jesus in them.

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt

The Greatest Chapter in the Bible

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Gospel, Holiness. No Comments on The Greatest Chapter in the Bible

A few months ago, my family found a documentary series on the International Space Station. Since then, we’ve been pretty enamored by space. We’ve woken up early to see the space station passing by us and we’ve prepared to watch the recent Artemis mission launch, but it was rescheduled to launch later this month. Along the way, we learned more about the James Webb Space Telescope, which NASA launched in December of last year. The JWST is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope and uses infrared light to peer through dense layers of space dust. 

In July, NASA released the very first images captured by this telescope. You can look at these remarkable images here, all of them displaying God’s magnificent creation.

The enormity of the universe is virtually impossible to grasp. NASA explains that the SMACS 0723 image is “approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length.” So, find a grain of sand, hold it up to the night sky, and imagine that in it are thousands of galaxies we can see with the most powerful telescope we’ve ever constructed—and certainly countless more galaxies we cannot yet see. You can read more about it here.

I look at these pictures and I think of the enormous depths of space and think, how big is our God, the creator of it all! These pictures show us the glorious depths of God’s creation. And yet, the glorious God behind the great depths of space is not beyond them. He is near. While there are deep pockets of space we won’t see on this side of heaven, the glorious depths of God’s Gospel can be known and there are glorious depths to God’s gospel that we must search and discover for our own souls. 

But we don’t need a telescope or a microscope even; we have the book of Romans, which church history has called, “The greatest letter ever written”. Within the greatest letter ever written is what many, myself included, have called “The greatest chapter in the Bible”, Romans 8.

The Letter of Romans gives us the glorious depths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are some of you here who are (1) questioning this gospel and maybe skeptical of it, (2) just dipping your toes into grace, or (3) ready to dive into the depths of God’s grace. No matter where you are, my prayer for you is to me amazed by the splendor of our God. It’s what Paul writes in Romans 11:33-36,

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” – Romans 11:33–36

The entire letter shares with us that God has revealed the gracious depths of His righteousness to us. 

We see from Romans 1:1-7 that the Apostle Paul is the author of this letter to the house churches in Rome. He wrote this letter in roughly AD 56 during his third missionary journey while he was in Corinth (Italy) on his way to Jerusalem. You have to look at the final chapters to see a few of the reasons why he wrote this letter. He wrote this letter to (1) unite the Jews and Gentiles and (2) raise money for his mission trip to Spain, in which he hoped to stop by to see these brothers and sisters in Rome (Romans 15:24-25). 

It’s really by reading the entirety of the letter that we see why Paul wrote this letter to these Christians: he wanted them to explore the depths of the gospel.

This letter is a gospel treatise, an overflowing fountain of grace and mercy. It is saturated with Gospel goodness. It is rich in Gospel hope. And Paul invites his readers then and his readers now to discover the depths of Christ’s Gospel. Because A heart that has explored the depths of the gospel is a heart that overflows with gospel joy.

Paul encourages to keep going deeper into the endless wells of God’s grace to scrape the barrels dry only to discover it never does run empty. The depths of this gospel of grace that never ends is the theme of the entire letter. Grace upon grace from the God who is rich in grace. Not only is the gospel the central theme of this letter, but it must be the central theme of our lives. And for the gospel to be the central theme in our lives, then we must dive deep. And when we do, we can along with Paul declare, 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:16–17

The gospel is Paul’s reason not only for writing, but for living! This gospel message is not just interesting information, but a transforming declaration! As we dive into the depths of God’s righteousness over the next several weeks, I pray the Lord will continue to stir within our hearts an overflowing joy for who He is and all that He has done for us. 

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, be sure to listen to it here.

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt

Practicing our Faith

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Holiness. No Comments on Practicing our Faith

Practice is a word that has come up a lot for me in the past few weeks.  Now, it’s certainly not a new thing, being a musician and all, but the contexts of practice have so much greater application than we might imagine.  I feel like the pendulum swing in this is either that we don’t do the hard work of practice and expect to slide by, or we give ourselves no room for error and expect perfection immediately.  Both fail to recognize that we need to practice.

So, perhaps the questions we ask ourselves are, “How come I have to keep doing this?” or “Why can’t I do this yet?” Both lead to frustration. And in the context of living by faith, as we have been studying in Hebrews 11, what are we to do in those tough times? Practice. Look at Philippians 4:4-13:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.  Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

There’s a recipe contained in the first part of this passage.
-Rejoice in the Lord, always
-Let your reasonableness be known to all
-Do not worry, but in prayer with thanksgiving cast your cares on God

And what comes from this recipe? The peace of God, which passes all understanding. Paul further elaborates on our thought life, aligning our minds to think on this list of qualities rather than being concerned with the circumstances we are facing. At the end of the passage, he reveals this truth that not only has played out in his own life but also is currently his situation, as he is writing from jail!

But the easy part to miss is what is sandwiched in between there. Paul calls us to practice what he’s been teaching.  And practice is a beautiful word, because it means that we can increase our skill level in those areas.  So when we say, “How come I have to keep doing this?” Because we are called to practice our faith.  And when we say “Why can’t I do this yet?” Because practice is not a means to an end, but a way of life.  And there’s so much we can practice.

Practicing dependence instead of worry.

Practicing thankfulness instead of complaining.

Practicing reasonableness instead of reacting.

Because remember, circumstances do not lead to joy.  Philippians 4:13 is not a magic phrase that means that whatever we set our mind to, God will accomplish for us or through us.  It means that we can face any circumstances and remain content in Christ.

Whatever.  Wherever.  Our circumstances don’t control our reactions.  We, in our free-will, have the opportunity in every moment to make choices.  Sometimes it means we have to learn how to adapt to our good bad brains in order to make the best choice.  And it also helps us see why self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.  But ultimately, we don’t get better at it without practice.

So, practice.  The things that you aren’t good at? Practice.  You want to be more patient with your kids?  Practice.  You want to be better at being on time?  Practice.  You’re tired of beating yourself up? Practice. And give yourself the room to make mistakes, to learn, to grow, not giving up when it gets hard, and not over-expecting that change happens instantly.  It takes time.  And remember that for those who believe, God works in us as we work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13).

And also, I’m saying this to myself, too.

Practice.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Ben

 

Resources for Fighting Sexual Sin

Written by MattMacNaughton on . Posted in Family Discipleship, Fighting Sin, Holiness, Sex. No Comments on Resources for Fighting Sexual Sin

We concluded our Ten Commandments Sermon Series this past Sunday by looking at the Seventh Commandment. Typically, we would preach on the Seventh Commandment after the sixth, but Covid disrupted the sermon calendar, leading to the last sermon of the series being on the Seventh Commandment. If you haven’t had a moment to listen to the sermon, listen to it here.

Because of the depraved view of sexuality that is running rampant throughout our culture, it is important that we as Christians take every measure to fight against the sin of sexual lust. Jesus commands us to do whatever it takes to rid our hands and eyes of this disastrous sin (Matthew 5:27-30). As we all seek to pursue Christlikeness in all things, I want to provide as many resources as I can to help you in your walk with the Lord, both personally and parentally. 

 

PERSONAL RESOURCES

There are two gracious gifts the Lord has given us to fight sin that rightfully take place at the top of this list: the Scriptures and the Church.

Within the Scriptures, we see the depravity of our own hearts (Jeremiah 17:9-10). We see countless calls to abandon sexual immorality and to flee youthful passions (1 Corinthians 6:18-20; Colossians 3:1-5). We see the importance of confessing our sins, not just to the Lord, but to each other for the purpose of help and restoration (1 John 1:9; James 5:16; Galatians 6:1-10). The Scriptures and the Church are a reminder to us that God is committed to our holiness. His will for us is our sanctification!

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. – 1 Thessalonians 4:1–8

The Scriptures remind us, and the church should as well, that we are no longer condemned because we are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1-2). To pursue holiness is to eradicate sexual sin from our lives. If you are fighting sexual sin, fight it with the truth and power of Scripture alongside brothers and sisters in Christ who deeply care for your soul (Ephesians 6:10-20).

Here are additional resources to help you in your fight against sexual sin.

ANTHEM a strategic acronym by John Piper

Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace by Heath Lambert

Pornography: Fighting for Purity – a 31 Day Devotional by Deepak Reju

Sexual Sanity for Women: Healing from Sexual and Relational Brokenness by Ellen Dykas

Sexual Detox: A Guide for Guys who are Sick of Porn by Tim Challies

Covenant Eyes – Screen Accountability

 

RESOURCES FOR PARENTS

Parenting in a sexually-hyper culture is not for the faint of heart. Boys and girls are introduced to some form of pornography between the ages of 5 and 10. From a Christian perspective, the goal is not just to prevent porn exposure, but rather to teach God’s design for sex, establish clear and open communication, and acknowledge the dangers.

There is a difference between not allowing access to YouTube, social media, or even iPhones or iPads and teaching them God’s design for sex. Instead of a mindset of preventing porn exposure, we need to have a mindset of preparing for porn exposure. This provides action steps when your child is “accidentally” exposed to pornographic material (whether explicit or inexplicit such as provocative television commercials) or their eyes begin wandering at the pool or beach. Yes, we prevent, but we also prepare.

We prepare them for porn exposure by teaching them the truths of Scripture and the importance of accountability. If you notice, we take the same first measures in our parenting as we do in our personal fight against sexual sin.

Scripture teaches our children God’s design.  – Our children need to know that sex is God’s design between a married man his wife for life. We are proclaiming God’s design for marriage, sex, and gender because it is God’s design that is actively being attacked in our culture. We fight the lies of Satan with the truth of God. Any conversation concerning sex should be grounded in Scripture and celebrated as a gift from the Lord for a husband and wife.

Open communication leads to intentional accountability – Talking to your children about sex in an age appropriate manner makes you the expert on the topic. They hear it from you first before they hear it on the playground or in a video game chat. Most importantly, they hear the truth behind sex found in God’s Word. Regardless of the topic, teaching the truth of God’s Word to our children before they hear the lies of the world will serve them well.

Take the time to open the Bible and candidly talk to your children about God’s design for sex and their bodies. Here are a few additional resources that will help you in this conversation:

The Talk: 7 Lessons to Introduce Your Child to Biblical Sexuality by Luke Gilkerson

God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb

Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr.: A Simple Plan to Protect Young Minds by Kristen Jenson (Ages 3-6)

Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids by Kristen Jenson

Raising Teens in a Hyper-sexualized World by Eliza Huie

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON GENDER AND SEXUALITY

God and the Transgender Debate by Andrew Walker

Good God, Gay Girl by Jackie Hill Perry

Transgender by Vaughan Roberts

What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung

 

I pray these resources will aid you in your fight against sexual sin, but more importantly, I pray your heart will find joy and satisfaction as you behold the beauty of the Savior. Please contact me or another Elder if you need counsel in fighting sin. Let’s pursue holiness with a pure heart.

By His Grace,

Pastor Matt