Return Ticket.

“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-3)

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

In Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Sam shared with us about sensitizing grace (prevenient grace). He reminded us that God created man to be in fellowship with Him as Creator: instead, man chose to be selfish, placing his own desires above the relationship with God. Our pastor noted (paraphrased here) that as a result, the world we live in suffers the agony of being ‘out of sync’ with the God who made it.

God, though, remains gracious. Though we do not have the capacity to recognize our need for Him, we nonetheless have the benefit of His prevenient grace. God has stepped in to do what we cannot do for ourselves. Pastor Sam gave a succinct explanation that waxes creedal, that we can perhaps even memorize: God gives us the realization that what we are doing is not what we should be doing. That is the essence of sensitizing grace: it is a kick-starter, a first pass at rescue, for persons who have no idea that they are in danger.

As with most creedal thought, though, there is an undercurrent of warning in this ocean of love from God. If we continue to ignore God after having been made aware of our need for God’s love and God’s leading and God’s law, then His grace will be withdrawn. I would encourage us to take time today to re-read Romans chapter 1, which we reflected on during the sermon. As we read, let us pray that those who have been made aware of God’s sensitizing grace will not resist it, but will respond in obedience to His word.

The LORD of all glory, the Lord who loves us even though we wandered far from Him, has made provision for us to return to Him. Thank You, Lord, for Your sensitizing grace.

All Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Sipping Alchemic Mixtures.

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. (Romans 1:22-23)


It’s a backwards theology. Instead of men praying “Lord, make me more like You,” their heart-cry is “Lord, I’m going to make You more like me.”

It’s a source of confusion, to Christians and to non-Christian onlookers, when denominations rescind or re-write their code in order to accommodate practices which God has expressly spoken against.

One of the more obvious examples of this occurs in churches and seminaries which ordain practicing lesbians and gays. In the effort to promote civil rights, these institutions have been brought to a point where they must choose to ignore canon in favor of political correctness. This becomes a tricky thing during the transition: ask the Episcopals, whose Book of Common Prayer still indicates that marriage is an office expressed by the union of one man and one woman, but whose current poster child is Gene Robinson, a man who has chosen union with another man.

A less obvious example, though, is the practice of worship itself. In many churches, the service of worship has deteriorated into a sort of concert designed to attract crowds and boost emotions. There is this pattern of spending sixty or ninety minutes on “blessing” the crowd with music and drama. Where is the word of God? Where is the altar call? Where are the prayers? Hasn't God told us to serve Him, and not ourselves?

This may sound like a harsh commentary. However, it is not. It’s simply a small drop of saltwater in a very big ocean. In recalling previous blogs on the subject of Jesus as the only way, the only truth, and the only life, we would be remiss if we didn’t consider His opinion on the subject. And in John 3:16, we are shown that everlasting life is gained through our believing in this Only One. The believing is expressed through our love, and through our service. Put another way, the way we behave is an indication of what we really believe in our hearts.

Pastor Sam used the word dilution to describe the plight of the church, and it’s a great word to use. We have tossed out the biblical revelation of who God is and what God wants, and have replaced it with our own estimation of what we want God to be. Hence the self-serving nature of “worship” services. Hence the radical restructuring of denominational guidelines and by-laws. This has become our golden calf, fashioned by our own hand, to which we sing the songs of Zion as if that calf were God.

Is there a solution for dilution? Well, the Lord knows those who are His. And the Lord knows the intents of our hearts. And the Lord continues to love and woo and warn us… to a point. The solution is to heed the warning, while there is time, and return wholeheartedly to God.

That’s not a difficult formula to follow.

The Gospel Truth.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Benji reminded us of two important principles concerning the content of the gospel:

What Christ offers: Jesus pours out His grace to us, and gives us the privilege of apostleship. We are a forgiven, prophetic community.

What Christ requires: Jesus mandates that His people walk in obedience to Him, which is obedience to the will of the Father.

The outpouring of the grace of God is not license for disobedience.
The outpouring of the grace of God is not excuse for rebellion.

Do you really love Jesus? Do you really believe His claims concerning His divinity, His lineage, His conquest of death and the grave? Then, to quote Pastor Benji, "desist from your evil ways". As we live lives of obedience, others will see and know the grace of God.

Are you ready to be a living letter, a walking Gospel?

The Love of God.

How is it that God loves us so much?

In Romans 1, we are confronted with the awesome, unavoidable, incomprehensible love of God. We see the love of God expressed in the humanity and the divinity of Christ, and we experience His grace as He pours out His Spirit into our very selves: yes, the Spirit of the LORD, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD (see Isaiah 11:2).

As Pastor Benji said on Sunday, this reflection upon the humanity and divinity of Christ is not merely an intellectual exercise. In fact, we cannot fully comprehend this way in which God has demonstrated His love for us. We accept the mystery of this amazing love, and we believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man.

Back in my Salvation Army days, we would say it this way: "We believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and human natures are united, so that He is truly and properly God and truly and properly man."

So, in the face of this cool weather, we consider the thought that warms our hearts: Yes, God loves us!

A Marathon Weekend.

Friends, welcome back! It's been a "Marathon" weekend. On October 10 Pastor Brian ran on behalf of BBCN's Afterschool Program, finishing the Hartford Marathon in a little over 5 hours. He looked great, ran with a purpose, and has inspired us in numerous ways: some of us will give more to BBCN; some of us will renew our commitment to exercise and care for our bodies in a way that honors God; and some of us will reflect on Brian's testimony and take up the challenge to say yes to God, even in the face of discouragement, fatigue, and outright opposition.

On October 11, we had two "marathon" services at BBCN. We had a "perfect storm" of factors that pushed each of our services to the 3-hour mark: a guest singer performing a couple of selections from her demo CD, Pastor Richie sharing a very important devotional thought preceding the choral selection by Chosen, and some very serious preaching from Pastor Benji. And, of course we couldn't go home without congratulating Pastor Brian and seeing some pictures from the marathon!

So, this week it's quite appropriate that we'll be looking at Romans, the letter written to Christians in the city that put marathons on the map. Stay tuned!

-G.