News & Stories

Following on last week’s theme of “reading Scripture with lifted eyes” to see Christ, I want to attempt to lift our gaze to Christ through Psalm 17. On Monday, during my devotions, I was especially moved by this psalm. Although I had read it numerous times, I had never read it as I did that morning, as a psalm of resurrection. Then, on Tuesday, I learned that my great uncle had died. I reflected on our last conversation, in which he had confessed a new-found openness to the Lord and told me that he had begun to pray regularly. I shared the gospel with him and trust that our merciful God saved my uncle from eternal death. In the wake of my uncle’s physical death, the resurrection psalm I had read the previous day became even more precious to me. But how is Psalm 17 a psalm of resurrection?

On New Year’s Day, I encouraged us to earnestly seek Christ in the Scriptures and thereby behold the glory of God. Last week, our Elder Jeff McArthur passionately expounded the beauty of Christ’s person, focusing on Christ’s humility. Now, I want to help us see Jesus in Genesis 22.

After a little over a year and a half of full-time ministry and an examination of my own heart, I have become convinced that there are two fundamental, rival conceptions of the Christian faith. Upside-down Christianity considers the world and its comforts to be supremely desirable. God exists to assist in the procurement of comforts and advantage. This conception of the faith frequently allures us and draws us away from Christ. On the other hand, right-side-up Christianity considers the world and its comforts to be subservient and secondary to God, by whom and for whom they exist. This conception of the faith is arduous but drives us toward Christ.

Pastor Jay has asked me to take the reins of “Four What It’s Worth” while he rests this January. I’m not sure what will appear in this column in the coming weeks – I’m still discerning what will be most helpful – but I want to use this entry to expand on the first application point from my New Year’s Day sermon: “seeing God’s glory effects transformation.”

This is the last installment of Four What It’s Worth for 2022, and with it comes a bookend to the number four. There are four Sundays coming in January that I want to draw your attention to. There are five total Sundays, but four works better with our shema.