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Are Paul & James At Odds on Faith & Works?

“FOR WE MAINTAIN THAT A MAN is justified by faith apart from observing the law” (Rom. 3:28). So writes the apostle Paul. “You foolish man,” argues James, “do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? . . . You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. . . . As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:14 - 26, especially vv. 20, 24, 26).
The formal contradiction between Paul and James is so striking that it has called forth relentless discussion across the centuries. Many contemporary critics, skeptical that God has really spoken in the Bible, think the passages are irreconcilable, and that together they demonstrate that from the beginning there were disparate branches of Christianity with distinctive and even mutually contradictory interpretations. Others think that the real secret to the relationship between Paul and James lies in very different meanings of “works” or “deeds.”
Several explanatory syntheses have been offered, but they cannot be evaluated here. It may be helpful, however, to reflect on the following points:
(a) Paul and James are facing very different problems. Paul is facing those who want to say that works, whether good or bad, make a fundamental contribution to whether one becomes a Christian (see one of his responses in Rom. 9:10 - 12). His answer is that they do not and cannot: God’s grace is received by faith alone. James is facing those who argue that saving faith is found even in those who simply affirm (for instance) that there is one God (James 2:19). His answer is that such faith is inadequate; genuine faith produces good works, or else it is dead faith.
(b) Issues of sequence are thus at stake. Paul argues that works cannot help a person become a Christian; James argues that good works must be displayed by the Christian. But on this point, Paul would not disagree; see, for instance, 1 Corinthians 6:9 - 11.
(c) Paul’s dominant usage of “justification” has to do with that act of God by which, on the basis of Christ’s work on the cross, he declares guilty sinners acquitted and just in his eyes. Such justification is entirely gracious (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16). James focuses rather more on “justification” before peers (James 2:18) and even on final judgment. A genuinely Christian life, says James, must be a transformed life. Again, Paul does not disagree: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). The allotment of rewards may be of grace, for even our good deeds finally spring from God’s grace — but the deeds are not therefore less necessary.
-- by Don Carson, aka D.A. Carson

Extended Bonar Quote

“The love of God to us, and our love to him, work together for producing holiness. Terror accomplishes no real obedience. Suspense brings forth no fruit unto holiness. No gloomy uncertainty as to God’s favor can subdue one lust, or correct our crookedness of will. But the free pardon of the cross uproots sin, and withers all its branches. Only the certainty of love, forgiving love, can do this.” Free and warm reception into the divine favour is the strongest of all motives in leading a man to seek conformity to Him who has thus freely forgiven him all trespasses. A cold admission into the paternal house by the father might have repelled the prodigal, and sent him back to his lusts; but the fervent kiss, the dear embrace, the best robe, the ring, the shoes, the fatted calf, the festal song,—all without one moment's suspense or delay, as well as without one upbraiding word, could not but awaken shame for the past, and true-hearted resolution to walk worthy of such a father, and of such a generous pardon. “Revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries,” come to be the abhorrence of him round whom the holy arms of renewed fatherhood have been so lovingly thrown. Sensuality, luxury, and the gaieties of the flesh have lost their relish to one who has tasted the fruit of the tree of life.

Horatius Bonar

John Owen on Temptation & Watchfulness

Watch the Heart
That part of watchfulness against temptation which we have considered
regards the outward means, occasions, and advantages of temptation; we
now proceed to that which respects the heart itself, which is wrought upon
and entangled by temptation. Watching or keeping of the heart, which above
all keepings we are obliged unto, comes within the compass of this duty also;
for the right performance whereof take these ensuing directions:
Let him that would not enter into temptations labor to know his own
heart, to be acquainted with his own spirit, his natural frame and temper, his
lusts and corruptions, his natural, sinful, or spiritual weaknesses, that, finding
where his weakness lies, he may be careful to keep at a distance from all
occasions of sin.

.....
Again: as men have peculiar natural tempers, which, according as they
are attended or managed, prove a great fomes (diseased material) of sin, or advantage to the
exercise of grace, so men may have peculiar lusts or corruptions, which, either
by their natural constitution or education, and other prejudices, have got deep
rooting and strength in them. This, also, is to be found out by him who would
not enter into temptation. Unless he know it, unless his eyes be always on it,
unless he observes its actings, motions, advantages, it will continually be
entangling and ensnaring of him. This, then, is our sixth direction in this kind:

Labor to know your own frame and temper;
what spirit you are of;
what associates in your heart Satan has;
where corruption is strong,
where grace is weak;
what stronghold lust has in your natural constitution,
and the like.

taken from around page 200 in Kapic & Taylor version of OWEN

Effectual Calling

Original sin renders all human beings naturally dead (unresponsive) to God, but in effectual calling God quickens the dead.

Q. 31. What is effectual calling?
A. Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.

with scripture references:
Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit,¹ whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery,² enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ,³ and renewing our wills,⁴ he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.⁵

1. 2 Timothy 1:8-9. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
   Ephesians 1:18-20. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
2. Acts 2:37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
3. Acts 26:18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
4. Ezekiel 11:19. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.
   Ezekiel 36:26-27. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
5. John 6:44-45. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
   Philippians 2:13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
   Deuteronomy 30:6. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
   Ephesians 2:5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).

Illumination

ILLUMINATION
THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING
by J.I. Packer

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:14

The knowledge of divine things to which Christians are called is more than a formal acquaintance with biblical words and Christian ideas. It is a realizing of the reality and relevance of those activities of the triune God to which Scripture testifies. Such awareness is natural to none, familiar with Christian ideas though they may be (like “the man without the Spirit” in 1 Cor. 2:14 who cannot receive what Christians tell him, or the blind leaders of the blind of whom Jesus speaks so caustically in Matt. 15:14, or like Paul himself before Christ met him on the Damascus road). Only the Holy Spirit, searcher of the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10), can bring about this realization in our sin-darkened minds and hearts. That is why it is called “spiritual understanding” (spiritual means “Spirit-given,” Col. 1:9; cf. Luke 24:25; 1 John 5:20). Those who, along with sound verbal instruction, “have an anointing from the Holy One... know the truth” (1 John 2:20).

The work of the Spirit in imparting this knowledge is called “illumination,” or enlightening. It is not a giving of new revelation, but a work within us that enables us to grasp and to love the revelation that is there before us in the biblical text as heard and read, and as explained by teachers and writers. Sin in our mental and moral system clouds our minds and wills so that we miss and resist the force of Scripture. God seems to us remote to the point of unreality, and in the face of God’s truth we are dull and apathetic. The Spirit, however, opens and unveils our minds and attunes our hearts so that we understand (Eph. 1:17-18; 3:18-19; 2 Cor. 3:14-16; 4:6). As by inspiration he provided Scripture truth for us, so now by illumination he interprets it to us. Illumination is thus the applying of God’s revealed truth to our hearts, so that we grasp as reality for ourselves what the sacred text sets forth.

Illumination, which is a lifelong ministry of the Holy Spirit to Christians, starts before conversion with a growing grasp of the truth about Jesus and a growing sense of being measured and exposed by it. Jesus said that the Spirit would “convict the world” of the sin of not believing in him, of the fact that he was in the right with God the Father (as his welcome back to heaven proved), and of the reality of judgment both here and hereafter (John 16:8-11). This threefold conviction is still God’s means of making sin repulsive and Christ adorable in the eyes of persons who previously loved sin and cared nothing for the divine Savior.

The way to benefit fully from the Spirit’s ministry of illumination is by serious Bible study, serious prayer, and serious response in obedience to whatever truths one has been shown already. This corresponds to Luther’s dictum that three things make a theologian: oratio (prayer), meditatio (thinking in God’s presence about the text), and tentatio (trial, the struggle for biblical fidelity in the face of pressure to disregard what Scripture says).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Concise Theology: A Guide To Historic Christian Beliefs

Move, I beg You, upon my disordered heart

(A Puritan Prayer)

O Holy Spirit,
Move, I beg You, upon my disordered heart.
Take away my unruly desires and hateful lusts.
Lift the mists and darkness of unbelief. Brighten
my soul with the pure light of truth. Make it . . .
fragrant as the garden of paradise,
rich with every goodly fruit,
beautiful with heavenly grace,
radiant with rays of divine light.
Be my . . .
comforter,
light,
guide,
sanctifier.

Take of the things of Christ and show them to my
soul. Through You may I daily learn more of His . . .
love,
grace,
compassion,
faithfulness,
beauty.
Lead me to the cross and show me . . .
His wounds,
the hateful nature of evil,
the power of Satan.

May I there see my sins as . . .
the nails which transfixed Him,
the cords which bound Him,
the thorns which tore Him,
the sword which pierced Him.

Help me to find in His death--the
reality and immensity of His love.

Open for me the wondrous volumes of truth in His
death. Increase my faith in the clear knowledge of . . .
atonement achieved,
redemption completed,
guilt done away,
my debt paid,
my sins forgiven,
my soul saved,
hell vanquished,
heaven opened,
eternity made mine.

O Holy Spirit, deepen in me these saving lessons.
Write them upon my heart, that my walk be . . .
sin-loathing,
sin-fleeing,
Christ-loving.

After this introduction the apostle tells his Roman readers frankly of his feelings towards them. He makes four points.

1). He thanks God for them all (8).
Allowing for a degree of legitimate hyperbole, it is still true that wherever the church has spread, the news that there were Christians in the capital had spread also. And although Paul had not been responsible for bringing the gospel to them, this did not inhibit him from giving thanks that Rome had been evangelized.

2). He prays for them. (9-10).
In Paul’s apostolic ministry, preaching and praying go together. He assures them that, even though most of them are unknown to him personally, he yet intercedes for them *constantly* (9) and *at all times* (10a). This is no pious platitude. He is telling the truth, and calls on God to witness his statement. In particular, he prays that *now at last by God’s will*, that is, if it is his will, *the way may be opened* for him to come to them (10b). It is a humble, tentative petition. He presumes neither to impose his will on God, nor claim to know what God’s will may be. Instead, he submits his will to God’s. When we reach chapter 15, we will consider how his prayer was answered.

3). He longs to see them and tells them why. (11-12).
His first reason is this: *so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift (charisma) to make you strong* (11). At first sight it seems natural to interpret such a gift as one of those *charismata* which Paul listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and will list later in Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. There seems to be a fatal objection to this, however; namely that in those other passages the gifts are bestowed by the sovereign decision of God (Rom. 12:6), Christ (Eph. 4:11) or the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:11). So the apostle could hardly claim to be able to ‘impart’ a *charisma* himself. He appears therefore to be using the word in a more general sense. Perhaps he is referring to his own teaching or exhortation, which he hopes to give them when he arrives, although there is ‘an intentional indefiniteness’ about his statement, perhaps because at this stage he does not know what their main spiritual needs will be.
No sooner has he dictated these words than he seems to sense their inappropriate one-sidedness, as if he has everything to give and nothing to receive. So he immediately explains (even corrects) himself: *that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith* (12). He knows about the reciprocal blessings of Christian fellowship and, although he is an apostle, he is not too proud to acknowledge his need of it. Happy is the modern missionary who goes to another country and culture in the same spirit of receptivity, anxious to receive as well as give, to learn as well as teach, to be encouraged as well as to encourage! And happy is the congregation who have a pastor of the same humble mind!.

4). He has often planned to visit them. (13).
Exactly what has foiled him he does not say. Perhaps the most likely explanation is the one he will mention towards the end of his letter, namely that his evangelistic work in and around Greece had not yet been completed (15:22ff.). Why had he tried to visit them? He now gives a third reason: *in order that I might have (RSV ‘reap’) a harvest among you*. ‘Harvest’ is literally ‘fruit’, and John Murray rightly comments: ‘The idea expressed is that of gathering fruit, not that of bearing it.’ In other words he hopes to win some converts in Rome, *just as...among other Gentiles* (13). It would surely be appropriate that the apostle to the Gentiles should engage in evangelistic reaping in the capital city of the Gentile world.
-------------------------

Jesus Gets & Fills My Heart

i had the HARDEST time getting these lyrics... had to email dude personally... so want them available to more... (buy the album, this song and couple others are worth it)


None Among
From the album All I Owe, available at www.matthewsmith.us
Words by John Berridge and Matthew S. Smith, Music by Matthew S. Smith
© 2006 Detuned Radio Music (ASCAP)

1. When by faith my Lord I see,
Bleeding on a cross for me
Quick my idols all depart,
Jesus gets and fills my heart

Chorus
None among the sons of men, none among the heavenly train
Can with Jesus then compare, none so sweet, none so fair

2. Soon my tongue would fain express
All His love and loveliness
But I lisp and falter forth
Broken words, not half His worth

Bridge
Oh I try and try again, still my efforts are in vain
And I know, despite my pride, that His truth will still remain
Idols crowd my heart and mind and demand I shed my blood
But the Lord, the risen Christ has secured me in the flood
Has secured me in the flood

excerpts from Piper's amazing chapter on power of Word in our fight for joy in his book WHEN I DON"T DESIRE GOD

Oh, how precious is the Bible! Here is where we see God most clearly and most surely.

To be sure, in the fight for joy we will not kneel forever over our

Bibles. We will get up and walk with Jesus onto the Calvary road. And

there, in the risks and the afflictions of love, we will see the Jesus of the Word in the manifestations of power. This too is part of our joy.

We need the Word of God not only to see God in the Word, but to see him rightly anywhere else.

I want to stress that ultimately, in and through all its benefits,

the Bible leads us to superior and lasting joy because it leads us to Christ, especially to see his glory and enjoy his fellowship. All the varied benefits are beneficial finally because they show us and bring us more of Christ to enjoy.

the Spirit binds his faithwakening ministry to the Christ-exalting Word. Which means that when we go to the Word of Christ, we put ourselves in the path of the

Spirit’s willingness to reveal Christ to us and strengthen our faith.

If we want more of the Spirit of God, we must hear more of the Word of God with faith. We must hear his promises, see their blood-bought certainty, value their goodness, and bank on them. That is the way God supplies more of his Spirit. The command in Ephesians 5:18-19, “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in

psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” is parallel with the command

in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching

and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs.” Being filled with the Word of Christ and

being filled with the Spirit of Christ are almost the same, because the

Spirit comes with joy where the Word is embraced with faith.

We may lack hope because we think we need something we do not need. It may take the Word of God to show us what we really need, and then to give us the power to get it. In the end what we really need is Christ. He is the sum of all our hopes. Paul commends the Thessalonians for their “steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”

(1 Thess. 1:3). He says that our “blessed hope [is] the appearing of the

glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13). Therefore

we are to “hope in Christ” (Eph. 1:12) and rejoice in the mystery of the

gospel, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

Sometimes what we need from the Bible is not the fulfillment of our

dream, but the swallowing up of our failed dream in the all-satisfying

glory of Christ. We do not always know the path of deepest joy. But all

Scripture is inspired by God to take us there. Therefore Scripture is

worth more than all this world can offer.

the impurity of sin so distorts our perception that we cannot see God as desirable. Therefore sin makes the greatest joys impossible.

" . . . we bring the power of the Spirit into vigorous, sin-killing action by hearing with faith. Hearing what? The Word of God. Therefore, the way we destroy deceitful, joy-killing desires that threaten to overwhelm us with destructive cravings is to hear and believe the Word of God when it says that he and his ways are more to be desired than all that sin can offer" (105).

Oh, how many people in our world glory in their shame and relish poisonous pleasures!

the power of sin comes from its promise of pleasure and is meant to be defeated by the blood-bought promise of superior pleasure in God, not by raw human willpower.

The fight for joy is the fight to see and believe Christ as more to be desired than the promises of sin. This faith and sight come by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. We look to the Word, we ponder, and we plead with God that the eyes of our hearts would be opened to

see the superior glory and joy. This pleading is so important we will devote the whole of Chapter Nine to it. But suffice it to say for now that we are utterly dependent on the Spirit to make the promises of God more desirable to us than the promises of sin. And for that vital eye-opening,heart-changing work we pray every day.

-- all quotes not marked are from J.Piper

life of parent of teenager

well... while i wait for my son to come home i had a chance to clean out some old stacked up paper... came across John Piper's lecture on John Newton.... man was I grabbed and helped by the one footnote my eyes fell upon... containing these words:

the question: "Why does the Lord permit some of his people to suffer such violent assaults from the powers of darkness" ?
--not to gratify Satan, but
-- to humble and prove His people;
-- to show His children what is in their hearts,
-- to make them truly sensible of their immediate and absolute dependence upon him and
-- to quicken them if to watchfulness and prayer"

He goes on to suggest that another design (of God) of temptation is "for the manifestation of his power, and wisdom, and grace, in supporting the soul under such pressures as are evidently beyond its own strength to sustain"

RP: I read this to mean that God uses our struggles & temptations to show how HE -- and not our wit or strength-- is our sustaining strength. He gets all the glory. I get humbled, and the opportunity to praise and worship my Savior God.

the whole footnote is here

full footnote on temptation's use in believer's life

Another example of the limits of this age that make us patient with people's failings is the God-ordained necessity of temptations. He asks, "Why the Lord permits some of his people to suffer such violent assaults from the powers of darkness" (The Works of the Rev. John Newton, Vol. 1, 226). "Though the Lord sets such bounds to [Satan's] rage as he cannot pass, and limits him both as to manner and time, he is often pleased to suffer him to discover his malice to a considerable degree; not to gratify Satan, but to humble and prove them; to show them what is in their hearts, to make them truly sensible of their immediate and absolute dependence upon him [see p. 232], and to quicken them if to watchfulness and prayer" (p. 227). He goes on to suggest that another design of temptation is "for the manifestation of his power, and wisdom, and grace, in supporting the soul under such pressures as are evidently beyond its own strength to sustain" (p. 228). He gives Job as an illustration: "the experiment answered many good purposes: Job was humbled, yet approved; his friends were instructed; Satan was confuted, and disappointed; and the wisdom and mercy of the Lord, in his darkest dispensations toward his people, were gloriously illustrated" (p. 228). If the Lord has any children who are not exercised with spiritual temptations, I am sure they are but poorly qualified to 'speak a word in season to them that are weary'" (p. 231). ---taken from John Piper's incredible lecture on life of john newton

Spurgeon Morning April 25

"Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away."—Song of Solomon 2:10.
LO, I hear the voice of my Beloved! He speaks to me! Fair weather is smiling upon the face of the earth, and He would not have me spiritually asleep while nature is all around me awaking from her winter's rest. He bids me "Rise up," and well He may, for I have long enough been lying among the pots of worldliness. He is risen, I am risen in Him, why then should I cleave unto the dust? From lower loves, desires, pursuits, and aspirations, I would rise towards Him. He calls me by the sweet title of "My love," and counts me fair; this is a good argument for my rising. If He has thus exalted me, and thinks me thus comely, how can I linger in the tents of Kedar and find congenial associates among the sons of men? He bids me "Come away." Further and further from everything selfish, grovelling, worldly, sinful, He calls me; yea, from the outwardly religious world which knows Him not, and has no sympathy with the mystery of the higher life, He calls me. "Come away" has no harsh sound in it to my ear, for what is there to hold me in this wilderness of vanity and sin? O my Lord, would that I could come away, but I am taken among the thorns, and cannot escape from them as I would. I would, if it were possible, have neither eyes, nor ears, nor heart for sin. Thou callest me to Thyself by saying "Come away," and this is a melodious call indeed. To come to Thee is to come home from exile, to come to land out of the raging storm, to come to rest after long labour, to come to the goal of my desires and the summit of my wishes. But Lord, how can a stone rise, how can a lump of clay come away from the horrible pit? O raise me, draw me. Thy grace can do it. Send forth Thy Holy Spirit to kindle sacred flames of love in my heart, and I will continue to rise until I leave life and time behind me, and indeed come away.

cover letter for FAQ sheet

Dear Christ Community,

In 1997 God, through His Church, brought me and my wife and two year old Andrew to Gainesville. I was funded, charged, and envisioned by the North Florida Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) to establish--from the ground up and in the power of the gospel-- a new congregation in Southwest Gainesville.

During the past 10 years there have been more highs and lows, joys and sorrows, victories and defeats than I can mention here. But the overwhelming theme of our corporate song has been the faithfulness of God. He has shown us time and time again that nothing will stop Him from building His Church. It has been a wild ride to be carried by the frightening and faithful God.

Christ Community, you have taken some big steps in the past three years: hiring Frank Matthews as Associate Pastor, pledging in Journey of Faith to give 1.28 million above & beyond your regular giving, electing and ordaining elders from our midst, moving to two morning services to accommodate growth and reach more people. And these are just a sampling. I am sure most of you could provide your own verse to that song.

Well, the next big step is here! We stand, as a church family, on the brink of our next opportunity to catch our breath, gulp, pray, and fling ourselves toward our mission in faith. Your elders believe that God is calling us to borrow up to $1.8 million to build a facility and renovate our church house on Parker Road. And we are bringing it to you for a vote. Please join me in focused prayer towards the congregational meeting of April 27th. Enclosed is what we hope will be helpful & envisioning information for you.

Again, let me express what a joy it is to serve among a bunch like you... a people who know they have a great need for a Savior and who are finding out, with me, that we have a great Savior for our need.

In Christ, and for the session,

Rob

Sermon on Food, extended post

AT first hearing it seems weird. You almost wonder... how will I come up with much to say. Then you start thinking about it... and thumbing through your bible... and you are at the other end of the spectrum saying, "a sermon about food??" ... shouldn't it be a sermon SERIES on food.

One day it may be, or at least a break-out class or seminar. Close parenthesis.

What about all the things that I simply CANNOT address in one brief sermon? As I've had discussions with people about food it seems that certain issues and ideas emerge. Each of them is, at least for some of us, loaded with emotion and questions.

Things like:
What i cannot talk about today:
anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or drinking, the goodness of wine, world hunger, can you pray with integrity for God to bless a fast-food meal? These and many more...

But I can't just say that I won't say ANYTHING about these things.... I got an email from a friend who wisely stated on this topic:
we have lost our way regarding food and that this shows up in many ways. I see it in everything from our vast consumption of "fast foods" and all that this says about how we live through our obsession with diets and with exercise programs and devices through various forms of disordered eating that can become very serious, through to the fact that the eating channel has now become a primetime competitor with leading cable channels. The food channel has some merits, for sure, (it is one of my personal favorites) but it is also curious to see that we now have a "food as spectacle and obsession" phenomenon.

You can get a large audience together for a striptease act--that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you come to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? CS LEWIS

(What Lewis could only imagine... we have on our TV's!) All Emeril need do is mention garlic and the crowd whoops and hollers.
In other words, there are real expressions in contemporary culture of where our fallenness has taken us....encourage people to seek help for themselves and friends where the problems become overwhelming. "Don't let yourself get isolated in these struggles. These are not other people's problems, they are ours, and we need to learn better how to be there for each other and be open about these struggles, whatever form they may take."

Well said. Don't struggle alone. This week it is eating. Next week working. April 20 is sleeping. Each of these can be the source of great joy and sorrow. It is vital to look at your failures in each area in the shadow of the cross of Christ. And not just in the shadow of the cross, but with your friends in that shadow... not alone.

Enjoying Wine

Enjoying Wine by Douglas Jones

Wine is quite a miracle. It's something like the birth of a child. A man and woman mix and then create a being wholly distinct from themselves, yet with deep family traits—new and yet the same. A ripe grape contains two parts, unmarried—an interior sugar juice and an exterior skin full of yeast. But if you marry and mix these parts by crushing a grape, it will start toward creating wine, a third distinct thing, new and yet the same—a "wine that maketh glad the heart of man" (Ps. 104:15). In meditating on Christ's miracle of creating wine, Augustine lamented that we accept normal wine creation as any less miraculous, for even as water "turned into wine by the doing of the Lord, so in like manner also is what the clouds pour forth changed into wine by the doing of the same Lord. It has lost its marvellousness by its constant recurrence."

From the simple miracle of fermentation, we gain all the wonderful wine varieties of the world. In broadest strokes, wine has been divided into three general groups: table wines, sparkling wines, and dessert wines. Sparkling wines start with the same process of mixing sugar and yeast, a process which produces about equal parts carbon dioxide and alcohol. If you let the carbon dioxide escape, you move down the road of creating normal wine. If you trap that gas, you get sparkling wines, such as Champagne (French) and Spumanti (Italian).

Dessert wines, on the other hand, such as Ports and Sherries, start down the normal path, but then get fortified somewhat artificially by adding other spirits, raising both the alcohol and sugar levels. Port and other dessert wines have many fans, but I don't count myself one of them (an understatement). They lack the natural beauty and mystery of normal table wines, as well as the fact that Ports only got their push as a spite to the French during an English-French war.

The broad category of table wines divides into red and white wines, a difference that does not result from the color of the actual juice of a grape. All wines start out with clear juice. The color enters from the length of time the juice is allowed to mix with the skins. If the time is longer, then you create red wines; if shorter, then white wines.

Red and white wines divide into several major groups. Both red and white wines are now more often named for the particular grape variety in question, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, etc. Other wines are more generic blends of several grapes, such as Chablis, Burgundy, Rose, etc. For simplicity's sake, this division between varietal (particular grape) and nonvarietal (more generic blends) is found in both red and white wines. Among red wines, the world's favorite varietal has long been Cabernet Sauvignon. The other prominent red varietals are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Gamay. Among white wines, the world's favorite varietal has proven to be Chardonnay, with Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurtztraminer also standing tall. Various mixes and cheats also make the rounds, including such market driven inventions as White Zinfandel, a sugary, cinderella wine invented because Americans used to only like white wines, but California had an abundance of straight Zinfandel vineyards.

Enjoying wine involves experimenting with all its varieties, and the most interesting feature of enjoying wine is combining multiple senses—sight, smell, taste, and touch. We miss out on some of the best parts of wine if we concentrate only on the taste.

Sight: When you take a glass of wine, stare at it for a while before you do anything else. We don't have to be experts to enjoy its color, though color can tell the experts much about many details of the particular harvest, age, etc. Examine the wine from all sides. Is it clear or cloudy, bright or dull? More mature red wines will appear slightly orange along the edge. You can enjoy color best against a white background. Perhaps most important for delighting in the color is to use real wine glasses—thin, clear bowls on stems. Thick or colored or clouded goblets diminish the joy and elegance of seeing wine.

Smell: Then swirl the wine in the glass to release and intensify the bouquet. Place your nose deeply into the glass and inhale deeply and meditate. Supposedly, the human nose can identify up to 10,000 different smells, good and bad. Professional tasters say they learn the most from smell, insights about character, origin, and history. But for the pure enjoyment, aromas connect powerfully with our minds and memory. Notice how much emphasis the Song of Solomon places on the delights of perfume.

Taste: Finally, you can taste the wine itself. Take a sip and let it roll around your mouth for ten seconds or so. Sense it against all parts of the tongue and cheeks. They say the tongue senses four fundamental tastes: sweet, astringency (bitterness), sour, and acidity (saltiness). Our tongue tip senses sweet and salty. The sides of our tongue senses sour and salty, and the back does bitterness, with the center actually being the least sensitive. Try them all and compare wine to wine.

Touch: This also involves the tongue. How does the wine sit? Is it heavy or light, airy or smooth? Temperature plays here as well. Red wines do best at room temperature and not cooled, whereas some whites do a little better cooled. Temperature can greatly affect taste. Some reds accidentally refrigerated can taste like vinegar. Learn to enjoy room-temperature reds.

Many books are commonly available which can provide much more depth. Christ created a high-quality wine, and so we should at least be able to tell the difference as we obey the divine command, "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works" (Eccl. 9:7).

Grace in Trials

Father of mercies,
Hear me for Jesus' sake.
I am sinful even in ....

Giver of all graces,
I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me,
for it is hard to practice what I believe.
Strengthen me against temptations.

My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin,
a river of corruption since childhood days,
flowing on in every pattern of behavior.

Congregational Letter about March 30

March 19, 2008
Dear Christ Community Church Family,

One year ago we spent 2 months as a church asking God to:
· Secure us in His love

· Guide us in our role in sacrificing to build a facility

It was a highlight time for many of us. I don’t think we have ever been tighter as a community. Our Father enabled us to trust Him and pledge to give $1.2 million during a 3-year commitment from April 2007 to April 2010. As encouraging as that was, the 78% participation rate, was my most personally encouraging number. We were all stunned and overjoyed!

During the first year of our “above tithe” giving to Journey of Faith, God and you have been faithful and we have corporately given $485,000. This has radically and positively affected the amount of money that we are in need of borrowing to begin construction. Thank you!! And praise God!

Not only has there been tremendous progress toward building from a financial standpoint but also a great deal has been accomplished in other areas during the last few months. Our building plans have received final approval from Alachua County, our general contractor has begun receiving bids from several sub-contractors, and the loan-seeking progress is reaching a conclusion. All of this is possible because of your faith and continued response.

We have much to give thanks for and celebrate. God has been good to us.

I want to make certain that you are aware of what is happening on Sunday, March 30^th.

Both the 9:00 & 10:45 worship services will include:

· Children of CCC coming forward to formally give the money they’ve been collecting all year

· Re-commitments from all who made initial commitments in 2007

· New commitments from all who are newer to Christ Community Church

Enclosed is one pledge card that will serve all of us. Some will use one side to make a re-commitment and some will use the other side to make a 1^st time commitment.

Also, during our “Live Together Time” between services, we will be enjoying a Micro Fiesta complete with cake, punch, and piñatas for the children. This is a wonderful day to bring friends along to help give them a sense of what Christ is doing in our midst. There will also be artist’s renderings and floor plans of the new facilities on display.

Grace to you,
Rob