Construction in April - Windows and Belltower

Much progress has been made in April with great weather from the Lord and major enhancements to our old sanctuary now making it more open, bright and appropriate for the proclaimation of God's Word. The Reformers were keen on how we ought to worship God being directed by the God we worship. This is our driving impulse in this project, to extol the beauty of true Biblical worship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Prayer of John Knox for the Church in times of Injustice

O Lord, most strong and mighty God, who destroys the counsels of the ungodly and at Your pleasure disposes the tyrants of the world, so that no counsel or force can resist Your eternal counsel and everlasting purpose; we Your poor and humble servants, urgently desire, for the love that You have toward Your well-beloved and only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that You will look upon Your cause. For it is time, O Lord to bring to nothing all those things that have risen up against You and Your Holy Word. And we promise before Your divine Majesty to use Your gifts better than we have done, and to order our lives more strictly, according to Your holy will and pleasure. And we will sing endless praises to Your most blessed name, world without end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Pictures From March -Church Renovation

These pictures show how the inside of the sanctuary was gutted out and the beginnings of the new chancel area where there will be new pews in the side cross-section of the sanctuary. The old offices and restroom will now be a part of the enlarged spacious sanctuary with an additional sitting space. It is a testimony of God's goodness that we are seeing this happen. For His Glory!

The Prayers of John Knox

Scotland’s history was altered by one man on his knees.
Let your strength, O Lord, sustain our weakness, that we being defended by the power of your grace, may be safely preserved against all the assaults of Satan, who continually goes about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour us. Increase our faith, O merciful Father, that we may not swerve at any time from your heavenly Word; but so deepen within us hope and love, with a careful keeping of all your commandments, that no hardness of heart, no hypocrisy, no lust of the eyes, no enticements of the world, may draw us away from your obedience. Amen.

It is a manifest sign, that such as are always negligent in prayer do understand nothing of perfect faith: for if the fire be without heat, or the burning lamp without light, then true faith may be without fervent prayer. John Knox
Grant, O heavenly Father, that we may spend this day wholly in your service, so that all our thoughts, words, and deeds may glorify you, our heavenly Father. And for as much as of your mere love and favor you have not only created us in your own image and likeness, but has also chosen us to be heirs with your dear Son, Jesus Christ, of that immortal kingdom which you prepared for us before the beginning of the world, we pray increase our faith and knowledge, and enlighten our hearts with your Holy Spirit, that we may walk in godliness and integrity of life. Amen.

The Glory of God's Grace in the Lord's Table

Ruth 2:14 (ESV)
And at mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.




As we move through the story of Ruth it will become apparent that every turn of the events will unfold for us unmistakable glimpses of grace. Who would have thought that an obscure widow named Naomi from the town of Bethlehem should become the great-grandmother to a King. Out of desperate and impoverished times comes a time of unexpected favor and restoration. In Ruth’s story we see echoes of the Gospel. The story of rebellious prodigals coming home and the pagan Moabites welcomed into God’s family.

Old Testament scholar, Ian Duguid puts it so wonderfully:

“We who live in the New Testament era should see the constant faithfulness and glorious grace of this God even more clearly than Naomi did. In the Scriptures, we have written down for us the rich history of God’s longsuffering with his rebellious children. We know more fully that the Father stands with open arms and open heart, scanning the horizon for the returning prodigal, eager to welcome her home. He doesn’t just allow us grudging admission to glean in his fields: he invites us to his table to partake in his feast.”


Most scholars recognized the element of sacramental grace in the invitation extended by Boaz for Ruth to share in his bread and wine. It is a picture of people like us who do not deserve grace, but “just happen” by providence to find ourselves in the fields of God’s mercy and invited to come to the table. By faith we grab hold of this favor and cling like Ruth to the blessed hope of our salvation. This Sunday we will be invited to share in the meal which is a preview of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Take stock of your past and your present in honest repentance, and then come clinging to the mercy as offered to you in the Gospel. This is because the cost has been paid. Jesus paid the cost with his own life.

Again Duguid’s words point to the essence of Gospel truth:

“In order to receive home the wandering sinner, it would cost the Father nothing less than the death of his Son on the Cross. It would cost the Father the unthinkable agony of pouring out his wrath and anger against sin on Jesus, God the Son. No mere duty could force God to pay that price. Nothing less than his faithfulness to his covenant purposes, his overwhelming love for us, and his desire to have us as part of his people, could inspire such sacrifice. What Naomi and Ruth most needed was not simply a redeemer to rescue them from their earthly poverty and danger, nor even a husband for Ruth. Rather, they needed a heavenly Redeemer to rescue them from their sin…Out of his covenantal faithfulness, God willingly paid the price in full.”

Come to the Lord’s Table for the food that does not perish. Calvin spoke of this meal as “spiritual food that nourishes our souls” as we feed upon Christ by faith.

Isaiah 55:2 (ESV)
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.

Why would we look to other fields or other food when such a rich bounty has been provided for us? Do not take it lightly, or with presumptive hearts. Open hands, believing minds, and humble hearts are always welcome.

Do We Really Need Creeds?

6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 1 Corinthians 8:6


What is a creed and why do we use them? This question is important because the understanding of Christianity as a creedal faith is under attack today. Creed means “I believe” in Latin. Most creeds like the Apostles and the Nicene Creed are drawn from the Bible and used to express in a summary way the core beliefs of Christianity. Throughout the history of the Church, these creeds were expanded in order to address various misunderstandings and outright attacks on biblical doctrine.

There are also creeds we find in the Bible itself. The first creed we find is known as the shema in Deuteronomy 6:4, which every orthodox Jew would recite everyday. “Hear O, Israel the Lord, our God is One God and you shall love the Lord your God – with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

David Zadok – of Christian Witness to Israel, a Jewish Christian living in Israel, recently translated the Heidelberg Catechism into Hebrew. Mr. Zadok writes: “We all agree that the word of God is and ought to be our only guide and source, yet we need to be able to express and summarize the truth of the Bible, both to those inside and those outside the church. We need to be able to teach, preach, and proclaim the whole council of God, and to defend its magnificent message from various errors and heresies…the first such confession and creed is the Shema found in Deut. 6:4 ..”Interesting this Trinitarian confession of the One God, has become for millenniums the confession of the Jewish people.”

The confessional statement of Israel was to mark itself as different among the pagan nations in their belief. They left Egypt- a land of polytheism and entered Canaan -a land full of local deities and idols. The monotheism of Israel was unique and also threatened not so much by the competing theologies of the times, but Israel herself was so prone to forget her faith – idolatry was so much a temptation.

Why do we confess our faith with a creed? Why are we confessional people, as Israel was confessional? Because, we need to express to the world and remind ourselves who God is and what we believe about God. .

There is a strong anti-confessional mood among evangelicals today and expressed in slogans like- “No Creed but Christ” – But, this is still a creed. It is an example of self-reverential absurdity.

The confession or creed in chapter 8 of 1 Corinthians is written in Hebraic poetry.
It is in chiastic form – parallel - each part mirrors the other. It is a strong affirmation of the Deity of Jesus Christ who in essence is equal with the Father.

A. yet for us there is but one God, the Father
B. from whom all things came
C. and from whom we live.

A. and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ,
B. through whom all things came
C. and through whom we live.

Everything we can say about God the Father – who he is – is eternal power, glory and pre-existent majesty – we can equally say about the Lord Jesus Christ. John Chrysostom an early Church father wrote, “The Son is in reality neither less than, nor inferior to, the Essence of the Father.”


St. Augustine in the 4th century said, “but if all things were made by the Father, and all things by the Son, then the same things were made by the Father and by the Son, The Son, therefore , is equal with the Father, and the working of the Father and the Son is indivisible.”

What we believe about God makes all the difference in the world – in the way we act, behave and the way we worship – our praise, because doxology is confessional.

Praise is simply telling God what is true about him. It cannot be done as it ought if we have wrong views about God. But, right views or being orthodox is not the goal. The goal is worship. The goal is a heart enraptured with the knowledge and glory of a God we cannot comprehend fully – but in mercy and grace, God revealed himself to us in the Word.

A Creed is a guardrail to guard the Mystery of who God is from those who would detract from his glory.

Without Creeds, we cannot worship – because we fall into idolatry. Without Creeds, we cannot live – because we will fall into loving our selves more than others.

The Game to Watch - NCAA

Tonight (opps, it is Sunday, which means I will miss it-) the match between Kansas and North Carolina is more than just a tournament game - it is a classic showdown between two schools where basketball is considered the only sport in town. You may think it is Indiana, but Kansas has the home base of the great founder of the game, Naismith (a presbyterian minister who developed the game at the YMCA as a ministry outreach to youth). This game tonight is between two old rivals. Kansas is the underdog and was never expected to do well this season. Would Naismith played on Sunday?