Trails Church Base Camp: Recent Episodes
Trails Church
Welcome to Base Camp, a resource for the men and women of The Trails Church to help equip us to live out our faith, right here in Winnipeg, in everyday contexts. Base Camp is part of the training and equipping ministry of The Trails and includes in-person classes and training seminars, as well as this online presence so that the men and women of the Trails can study deeply practical and deeply theological material that we don’t have time to cover in other formats.
Well Tilled Soil was a weekender conference held in May 2024 as a few churches in Winnipeg gathered together to learn how we might prepare our hearts for receiving the preached Word.
In this specific talk, we learn: How we can have better conversations with non-Christians about God's Word. Using what we are equipped with from God's Word in order to be witnesses for Jesus.
Speaker: Matt Plett (Trinity Fellowship Church)
Well Tilled Soil was a weekender conference held in May 2024 as a few churches in Winnipeg gathered together to learn how we might prepare our hearts for receiving the preached Word.
In this specific talk, we discuss: Considering how we can better apply God's word. Identifying idols to remove the rocks in the soil of our hearts.
Speaker: Brennan Cattani (Osborne Village Church)
Well Tilled Soil was a weekender conference held in May 2024 as a few churches in Winnipeg gathered together to learn how we might prepare our hearts for receiving the preached Word.
In this specific talk, we learn: How the congregation can maximize the fruitfulness of preaching. What part the congregation plays before, during, and after the preaching moment.
Speaker: Brad Williams (CityLight Church)
Well Tilled Soil was a weekender conference held in May 2024 as a few churches in Winnipeg gathered together to learn how we might prepare our hearts for receiving the preached Word.
In this specific talk, we learn: Tracing the Journey of the Sermon. How the purpose of preaching is accomplished. How the preacher and the congregation move from biblical text to lived obedience.
Speaker: Chris Wold (The Trails Church)
Well Tilled Soil was a weekender conference held in May 2024 as a few churches in Winnipeg gathered together to learn how we might prepare our hearts for receiving the preached Word.
In this specific talk, we discuss: Preaching as Covenant Renewal. What is happening when the church gathers to hear preaching.
Speaker: Chris Wold (The Trails Church)
Well Tilled Soil was a weekender conference held in May 2024 as a few churches in Winnipeg gathered together to learn how we might prepare our hearts for receiving the preached Word.
In this specific talk, we discuss: God's purpose in preaching. Why the Lord has appointed preaching for the growth of His Church.
Speaker: Brennan Cattani (Osborne Village Church)
In this episode, we have guest Chris Wold with us as we wrap up a conversation we began last episode. In our last discussion, we talked about the Great Commission and how we can know what a disciple is (in our lives and in the lives of those around us).
In this episode, we discuss using our gifts to equip others, look at the Training Cycle (MAWL), explore our gifting, and see how we can use our gifts for the spiritual good of those around us.
MAWL stands for:
- Model
- Assist
- Watch
- Leave
In this episode, we have a special guest: Chris Wold. We are talking about what it means to be a disciple and how to "make" them.
Understanding the Great Commission - How is a disciple made? (Matthew 28:18-20)
- Authority of Jesus
- Going
- Baptizing
- Teaching
- Promise from Jesus
Being SWOLL:
+ Submits to Christ as King
+ Worships him as Lord
+ Obeys him as Master
+ Loves him as Savior
+ Learns from him as Teacher
In this episode, we discuss what a church is, what the early church did, and how all christians craft our local churches according to God's Word.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss prayer (what is it and are we commanded to pray?) and why prayer is important in the life of the Christian. For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss Psalm 19 and examine general revelation (creation) and special revelation (the Bible). We see David's response to God's self-revelation and see a model of how we ought to respond to God revealing Himself. We also examine 2 Timothy 3:14-16.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss how we grow in holiness, demonstrating our new identity as those who have been saved by God.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode series, we begin unpacking what it means to follow Jesus in our everyday lives. In this episode, we start at the beginning: what is a Christian?
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we have the recording from our Member Meeting from February 25, 2024.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we have a special guest (Matt Woodmass) walking through the Bible to explain why he has landed on welcoming in female deacons.
For more information on the trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss the topic of deacons. Who can hold this office? What are the qualifications?
We also have some special guests on this week's episode, John MacArthur and Mark Dever.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we have the recording of today's Pastor's Q&A, where our pastors fielded questions from our church.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss the beginning of The Trails (where we came from, that first year, the first public gathering, and how we feel 3 years later).
For more info about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
We are continuing our Faithful Stewards Episode Series by processing through how Christians ought to spend our time for the glory of God.
In this episode, we mention these resources in our application section of the episode:
Questions about your commitments from Tim Challies
From the book, Do More Better, page 40.
- Are these the right and best things for me to be doing?
- Do these things fit my mission [God’s priorities for your time]?
- Are there things I can do in this area that no one else can do?
- Am I especially gifted or talented in this area?
- Do I bring unique value to this?
- Is there someone who can do this better than I can?
Questions for reviewing areas of responsibility in an annual retreat from Carolyn Mahaney
From http://www.girltalkhome.com/files/personal_retreat.pdf
Carolyn suggests asking these questions about the following areas of responsibility: your personal holiness, your service at church, fellowshipping with believers, evangelizing unbelievers, loving your family, attending to your work, caring for your physical health.
- Am I keeping the Gospel personally?
- Am I daily “preaching the Gospel to myself?”
- What is my present involvement with each priority?
- Given my present season, am I giving the right amount of time, energy, and attention to each priority?
- Is my present investment into each priority bringing glory to God?
- Is there anything about my present investment into each priority that is not bringing glory to God and thus needs to change?
- What are the best opportunities that this season of my life offers? Am I “buying up,” “rescuing from loss,” and “improving” these opportunities?
- Are there any “good” activities or “noble” endeavors in which I am presently involved that are hindering my investment into priority relationships?
- Why am I involved in this particular activity or endeavor? Is it to glorify God or is it for selfish purposes?
- Is there anything that I am doing presently that needs to be postponed until another season?
- Will what I am sowing in this season reap a good harvest in the next year?
- Am I bearing fruit in the most important areas in this season of my life?
In this episode, we share our recent member meeting as a church, so that whether you are brand new to The Trails and exploring membership, or maybe you are already one of our members, that you can hear a bit about the current state of our church and our future aspirations as we install Deacons and prepare to send out our Calgary Church Plant.
______
Welcome and introduction
2:47 - 28:30 | “what is a deacon?” Discussion
19:47 - 33:03 | three areas for future deacon roles at The Trails: Deacon of Finance (31:24) deacon of benevolence and member care (31:25-32:40), deacon of hospitality (cafe, setup-tear down, etc. (32:41-33:03))
34:24 - Biggest area of need at our church? Kids Ministry
35:11 - 45:26 | Calgary Church Plant Update and Introducing the Team Members who are moving to Calgary
45:27-47:55 | Updates on future roles for Trails Kids, Trails Youth and Worship Ministry
47:56 - 49:27 | Financial Update/Snapshot.
49:28 - 51:58 | Two Needs: Board Members and Cheque signers
Closing remarks
In this episode, we continue our study on being faithful stewards by considering how we spend our time; this episode highlights the importance of Rest (what is says about God, why it's important for us, and what it means to rest).
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss materialism in the life of the Christian and how this sin impacts all of us in various ways.
For more info about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
This class was originally given after one of our Sunday Gatherings and is meant to help Christians with practical resources for studying their Bibles.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss both debt and future savings in our pursuit of learning how to become more faithful stewards.
For more info on The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss various lifestyle decisions that Christians make and how that shapes how we spend money which reveals our values.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
This recording is a summary of our Member Meeting from March 8, 2023. In this meeting, we heard a brief message from Matt Woodmass, along with some updates in our church, heard testimonies from Chris and Anabelle Wold, shared prayer requests and prayed for one another (not recorded), sang together (not recorded) and shared a financial update.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
This sermon was originally preached at Trinity Fellowship by one of our Pastors and in it, we discuss what it means to follow Jesus.
For more information about the Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode of Basecamp, Pastor Matt spends some time helping us think through various theological doctrines and how to organize first, second and third order differences between Christians.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we continue our study called "Faithful Stewards" as we tackle the topic of how giving is a grace.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we continue our Faithful Stewards Episode Series
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
This sermon was originally preached at Trinity Fellowship during a series through the gospel according to Matthew. In this sermon, we discuss Matthew 7:12-20 and the two gates, paths and preachers calling for us to come through these gates.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we continue our series on being faithful stewards by considering the call to faithfulness.
for more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
Have you ever heard the phrase, “you can’t judge me!”
Maybe it was used as a trump card against you when all you were trying to do was warn someone that their behavior dishonoured God.
And maybe you deduced that they were right. Maybe it’s not your place to judge them. Maybe you need to let them live their truth. Maybe it’s not your place … I mean, the Bible even says not to judge … or does it?
In this episode of BaseCamp, we take a look at Matthew 7:1-6 and explore this often misquoted and abused passage of scripture to see what it really means to “not judge.”
On the other side of our study, we come to a better understanding of God’s Word, our responsibility as Christians, and see what Jesus demands of us in regards to our interpersonal relationships.
Praying this is a helpful episode 🙏🏼
This sermon continues our Faithful Stewards episode series with a sermon about living for better rewards.
For more information about The Trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
This is a recording of our January Member Meeting, where we announce some exciting things happening around The Trails; specifically, we are launching some new platforms to help with discipleship and also are going to be sending out our FIRST CHURCH PLANT later on this year.
For more information about The Trails, check out: trailschurch.ca
In this episode series, we begin discussing that it means to be a faithful steward and how we can leverage our lives as Christians for the glory of God in every area of life.
For more information, check out: trailschurch.ca
In this final episode of our series on suffering, we talk about contentment and its role in our lives as Christians as we walk through suffering.
For more information on The Trails, pleas visit: trailschurch.ca
in this episode, we continue our study on suffering by exploring how Christians suffer in various ways for our faith and we aim to expand our definition of persecution to reflect how the Bible defines this word to explain some of the sufferings we walk through as Christians, on account of the Word.
For more information on The Trails, check out: trailschurch.ca
in this episode, we continue our study on suffering by exploring how our suffering puts on display the power of the Gospel in ways that bring glory to God.
For more information on The Trails, check out: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss a few principles to follow as we come alongside of others in their suffering.
To learn more about the trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss how to help others fight for faith while walking through suffering in practical ways.
To learn more about the trails, please visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we discuss how we can fight for faith in the midst of suffering.
For more information about the trails, please check out trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we talk about some common ways that Christians respond to suffering that are unbiblical.
In this episode, we talk about the suffering of Jesus and the comfort we have in having a God who can sympathize and empathize in our sufferings. He is not a God who is removed from our suffering, but who walks, immanently, with us as His people. And because of Jesus' suffering, we are saved and forgiven - and we also have comfort and encouragement in our daily suffering.
In this episode, we continue our mini series on suffering and, in this episode, we think through two days: "this" day and "that" day - the future Day promised where there are no more funerals, sickness and suffering for the Christian and how this hope emboldens us to live in "this" day with comfort and assurance
In this episode, we are continuing our study on suffering in the life of the Christian and processing through eight outcomes of suffering in our lives:
- Suffering is used by God to grow us in holiness
- Suffering is used by God to build perseverance (or endurance)
- The third way that God uses suffering in our lives as Christians is to grow us in maturity
- Fourthly, God uses suffering to teach us His word
- Fifthly, God uses suffering in our lives to help us encourage others
- Sixthly, God uses suffering in our lives as Christians to wean us off self-reliance
- Next, God uses suffering in our lives to strengthen our assurance
- Which brings us to our last main point: that God uses suffering in our lives as Christians to glorify Himself.
This podcast series on suffering comes from a very specific understanding that ideas have consequences and that theology really does matter - what someone believes really shapes how they view God, how they view themselves, and how they walk through their lives.
This podcast is for those of you questioning your faith because you were taught that God was like a divine vending machine ... if you put in the right coins of faith, you’d get whatever you want out of life. But then tragedy strikes: cancer, Alzheimers, car accidents, inflation, loss of jobs, miscarriages.
What if "suffering" isn't a terrible thing to be avoided at all costs and saved from? What if suffering is the means by which God glorifies Himself as He grows us in Christlikeness, leading us to kill sin in our lives and live out our faith in ways that speak to the truth of a coming kingdom that is much better than what this world has to offer? What if suffering is meant to be part of the Christian life?
This special episode series will be airing, Lord willing, once per day for the next week and a half. Binge this series, or take it slowly. Either way, we pray it is encouraging.
_______
P.S. I mention a sermon called "Biblical Promises to Stop Viruses and Sickness", here is that link if you'd like to hear it for yourself
Welcome back to BaseCamp and to this episode where we are diving back into our discussions in Systematic Theology. And, today, we come to the last episode in discussing the order of salvation - or, as we have been talking about, the behind the scenes look at how we became Christians; our spiritual birth stories, we might say - and how God has been planning, working out, securing and applying our salvation into our lives. And I pray that it has been helpful as we have been discussing God’s plan of redemption. Now, As we’ve been working through God’s plan of redemption in the last episode, we considered God’s glorious work to adopt rebellious sinners like us into his own family, then His plans of sanctifying us and persevering us to the end.
Well, in today’s episode, we are talking about Death and glorification - and it’s amazing if we think about it, humans have a 100% mortality rate, we are all going to die unless Jesus comes and sets up His kingdom here upon the earth during our lifetime - and even our deaths are part of God’s glorious plans as we will shed our old bodies, taking them off like dirty, old clothes, so that we might put on our new selves and be free from sin as we are in paradise with our Saviour in the place where He has gone to prepare for us.
Scriptures contra annihilationism: Daniel 12:2, Matthew 3:12, 10:28, 18:8, 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5; Rev. 20:12-15, 21:8.
Book recommendation contra annihilationism: Francis Chan, Erasing Hell
So, for the last few episodes, we have been walking through what theologians often refer to as the order of salvation that helps us understand how God applies redemption to Christians.
A couple of episodes ago ago, we spoke about the first three steps or stages of the salvation order– election, the gospel call, and regeneration. Then, last episode, we took a look at the two next stages—conversion and justification. We also took a look at the idea of Union with Christ and how it manifests itself through the act of conversion and is the reality of our justification. In this episode, we will look at the next three steps or stages of the salvation order—adoption, sanctification, and perseverance.
Conversion is “our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our trust in Christ for our personal salvation.”
Repentance: involves a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of sin, and a sincere commitment to forsake sin and walk in obedience to Christ.
What do we mean by “saving faith.”
Union With Christ: Being united to Christ means that believers are personally joined to the living, incarnate, crucified, resurrected, and reigning Jesus by His Holy Spirit through faith.
Union with Christ is likened to that of a building and its cornerstone (Eph. 2:20–22), a vine and its branches (John 15:1–8), the members of a human body and its head (Eph. 1:22–23; 1 Cor. 12:12), and the union between husband and wife (Eph. 5:31–32; 2 Cor. 11:2).
Believers are justified in Christ, sanctified in Christ, adopted in Christ, preserved in Christ, and glorified in Christ! We possess eternal life in Christ (Rom. 6:23); we are justified in Christ (Rom 8:1); glorified in Christ (Rom. 8:30; 2 Cor. 3:18); sanctified in Christ (1 Cor. 1:2); called in Christ (v. 9); made alive in Christ (15:22; Eph. 2:5); created anew in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17); adopted as children of God in Christ (Gal. 3:26); elected in Christ (Eph. 1:4); and raised with Christ (Col. 3:1).
Justification
CHBC Statement of Faith: We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification; that Justification includes the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood; by virtue of which faith His perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us of God; that it brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God, and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity.
Justification is a legal or judicial declaration by God that we are righteous in His sight … not because of our works but because He imputes or credits the righteousness of His Son as our own. We are counted righteous in Christ.
We are justified by faith alone, in Christ alone, not by our works.
In the last few episodes, we’ve looked at the person and work of God the Spirit and, in today’s episode, we are beginning a survey of how God has worked from eternity past, and is working into eternity future, to reconcile a chosen people to Himself through the atoning work of Christ on the cross.
A discussion on salvation: examining the way that God applies our salvation in our individual lives.
Order of Salvation
- Election (God’s choice of people to be saved)
- The Gospel Call (proclaiming/hearing the message of the Gospel)
- Regeneration (being born again)
- Conversion (faith and repentance)
- Justification (right legal standing; righteousness of Christ imputed)
- Adoption (membership in God’s family)
- Sanctification (growth in obedience and knowledge; increased conformity to Christ)
- Perseverance (continuing in the faith; abiding in Christ)
- Death (going to be with the Lord)
-
Glorification (receiving a resurrection body)
-
Some of the aspects of salvation are entirely up to God (like election). Whereas others, like conversion, require human activity along with God’s activity - so that human responsibility and divine sovereignty are complementary
- This order of salvation isn’t strictly chronological – primarily, the salvation order is one of logical ordering more than a chronological ordering.
1) Election: “an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them or because of their foreseen faith or goodness, but only because of His sovereign good pleasure.” Acts 13:48; Ephesians 1:4-5; I Thessalonians 1:4-5; 2 Thess. 2:13
2) The Gospel Call (invitation): no one would be saved without someone sharing the Gospel with someone, they cannot be saved - Romans 10:14
- External Call and Internal Call
3) Regeneration “new birth” - Acts 16:14
As a church, one of our biggest aims is to help train, equip and mobilize our members in the gifts that God has given them so that they might be a blessing to our church and that God might confirm some gifting and callings in their life so that they might serve our church in greater ways and/or be sent out of our church to help plant new churches and pastor/bless unhealthy churches as solid church members. To help us in this task of training and equipping, we developed these Preachers Forum evenings and are praying that God would raise up preachers, sound technicians, worship leaders, children's ministry volunteers and launch team members that will serve our local church and, we pray, God might call some of them to help plant healthy churches and ministries out of our church.
This episode is the recording of one of our sermons from our August Preachers Forum and is given by Chris Wold, one of our Pastoral Apprentices at the Trails.
In this episode, we are going to be talking about the gifts given to us, as Christians - and how these gifts are not to be for our individualistic enjoyment and pleasure, but rather have been entrusted to us by God for the joy of those around us within our local church contexts
definition: a spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church; it includes gifts related to natural abilities (teaching, showing mercy, or administration) and gifts that seem to be more ‘miraculous’ and less related to natural abilities (like healing or distinguishing between spirits).
Lists of spiritual gifts in the Bible ( Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 7:7, 12:8-10, 28; 1 Peter 4; Ephesians 4:11); all spiritual gifts much be empowered “by one and the same Spirit” (1 cor. 12:11) and that they are given for the “common good” (12:7) and that they are all to be used for edification, for building up the church (14:26).
From these lists in the above verses, we learn a number of things.
- There doesn’t seem to be a single comprehensive list of spiritual gifts in any one NT passage.
- There seems to be a priority on the word-related gifts.
- The gifts are gifts given by God: 1 Corinthians 12:11, Paul tells us that the “Spirit…apportions to each one individually as he wills.”
- The purpose of spiritual gifts is to build up the church, thus gifts are given to equip the saints for ministry until Christ returns.
- In all things, LOVE is the guiding principal in the exercise of the spiritual gifts. The way we should encourage, give, serve, lead, exhort, preach – whatever we do – is to do so lovingly.
What does the Bible teach about being baptized by the Spirit? Does this experience mean that we will naturally speak in tongues as a result? And if you haven’t ever spoken in tongues, does that mean that you haven’t been baptized in the Holy Spirit? Better yet, here’s the question we aren’t asking, but should be: are there two tiers of Christians?
We explore these topics in this episode of BaseCamp.
Check out our past episodes on the person and work of the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit: Who He is: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7KDDNsk4SV40OH1LDA3HkB?si=9ed997f3f6ff454a
The work of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testament: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tPmJXwaxAhN4U3E8XhDnK?si=ccde8a2ca55e48a3
How God the Spirit works in us: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4McogHO2mrsScA17LqVfM7?si=6c7e001b90c94c40
In this episode, we share our latest members meeting discussion about how a healthy local church needs men and women committed to growing as disciples ... but it doesn't stop there. In order for a church to be healthy, we need to also be just as committed to helping those around us grow in their health as christians.
In this episode, we begin a new series discussing what a church is. This might seem like a silly podcast series, as we all might have a gauge understanding of what a church is ... but how certain are we that our definition matches what we see throughout the pages of Scripture?
So, we seek out to recover the fundamental truths of what a church is and how local churches are created by God for a very specific purpose.
The definition that we are borrowing in this episode series is this one: “A Church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture, they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are discipled and disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.”
In this episode, we pick back up on this theme of regeneration and talk about conviction, union with Christ, sanctification, intercession and assurance
Does God actually say you can’t have sex outside marriage?
Does God actually say homosexual behavior is wrong?
In this episode, we discuss Sex, Marriage, and Same-Sex Attraction from a Biblical worldview.
God’s Design for Marriage & Sex
Definition of Marriage: A covenantal, bodily union of one man and one woman, open to the gift of procreation, symbolic of the relationship between Christ and the church.
-
Procreation is one of the designed ends for marriage.
-
Marriage is a picture of two distinct parties in covenantal union.
The “sexuality of Jesus":
1) First, the fact that Jesus has a sex – he is male..
2) Second, by “sexuality of Jesus” I mean that Jesus is himself a sexual being. As a real human person, he took on a body capable of sexual activity. And yet: he refrained from sex.
Same-Sex Attraction
1) We must recognize the reality that fallen people have fallen desires.
2) Scripture equips us to offer an answer to the question, What if someone is born that way?
3) We must on one hand affirm that all sins make us deserving of condemnation.
4) Our posture toward believers who experience same-sex attraction must be one of compassion, kindness, gentleness, and speaking the truth in love.
Application Points:
1.We should honor marriage
-
We should honor singleness
-
We should cultivate strong friendships
For Further Reading/Listening:
-
https://www.wchurch.ca/IsGodAntiGayConference
-
https://www.desiringgod.org/books/recovering-biblical-manhood-and-womanhood
Whether it’s in a courtroom, in a conference room, in a coffee shop, or even within the walls of a local church, at one time or another we’ve all found ourselves participating in or watching two people engage in a conversation, where one person is in disagreement with or at least questions the validity of another person’s claim. In other words, it doesn’t take very long to find out that in life not everyone always agrees with what you believe about any given topic. And the topic of manhood and womanhood, as it is taught in the Scriptures, is one of those areas that Christians haven’t always agreed upon – which will be the focus of our episode
In this episode, we will consider a series of questions/objections to the Bible’s teaching, broken into two major categories—biblical objections, that is, based on particular biblical texts, and then more general objections.
Biblical Objections
1) Eph 5:21: Paul says that all Christians are to “submit to one another.” So, Doesn’t the Bible then teach mutual submission? And doesn’t that rid us of any idea that the husband is the head of his wife or that a wife needs to submit to her husband?
2) 1 Tim 2.12: isn’t Paul teaching that women can preach/teach in the gathered congregation, at least under the delegated authority of the elders?
3) Doesn’t Galatians 3:28 remove gender as a basis for distinction of roles in the church?
4): Didn’t Priscilla teach Apollos in Acts 18:26?
5) Leveling of gender roles as a hermeneutic thrust of Scriptures? Doesn't Scripture move towards abolishing gender distinctions all together?
The redemptive thrust of the Bible does not at all aim at abolishing gender distinctions and roles, but rather at redeeming them.
6) What about Deborah’s leadership in the book of Judges? Doesn’t that undermine the understanding of gender roles we’ve been teaching in this episode series?
General Objections:
Does teaching male headship encourage domestic abuse?
The Bible nowhere justifies a man abusing a woman in any way, be it physical, verbal, or emotional. And the Bible nowhere calls a woman to submit to such abuse.
If God has genuinely called a woman to be a pastor, who are you to say she can’t be one?
In today’s episode, we are going to address two questions:
- What does it look like to express our God-given gender in our culture around us?
- What if we are confused about our gender?
A Biblical Theology of Gender and the Human Body: God created men and women in his own image.
So how might we summarize the Christian view of “gender”? Well our “gender” isn’t just psychological.
- Physical body
- God-given dispositions/inclinations.
- cultural expressions
The fall (mankind’s rebellion against God) has distorted us in body and mind.
The resurrection affirms the goodness of the gendered body.
Loving Our Neighbors in a World of Gender Confusion
So, we might wonder: how should we show the love of Christ in this world that celebrates gender non-conformity?
Here are five suggestions:
- Seek Wisdom.
- Adopt a Posture of Compassion.
- Speak the Truth and the Gospel in Love
- Call Others to Realistic Repentance
- Persevere by God’s Grace
In this episode, we examine the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the pages of both the Old and New Testament.
In doing this, we see that our salvation is accomplished in a Trinitarian way and that the work of the Spirit is Christological in nature.
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament | Genesis 1:1-3; Ezek. 36:25-27, Joel 2:28-32, Jer. 31:33-34
The Holy Spirit at work in the Person of Christ in the New Testament.
- Conception
- Jesus’ baptism
- Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.
The Holy Spirit is at Work in the Christian | Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1-4;Joel 2; Psalm 110; Ezekiel 36.
The Spirit’s work of rebirth in the Christian’s life has several aspects to it:
- intellectual enlightening
- the liberation of the will
- cleansing and renewal
In this episode, we begin our discussion on the person of God the Spirit and lay some foundational material for upcoming episodes in considering the work of God the Spirit in our lives as Christians.
What do we mean when we talk about the God the Spirit as a Person? God the Spirit is a person, He is co-equal, co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son; He was not created, but always has been, He has eternally existed as the Third Person of the Trinity.
1) Personal pronouns given to describe God the Spirit.
2) Personal Properties ascribed to God the Spirit
3) The Scriptures teaches that The Holy Spirit is fully God.
The Holy Spirit possesses divine attributes
- The Holy Spirit is eternal.
- The Holy Spirit is omnipresent
- The Holy Spirit is omniscient
- The Holy Spirit is transcendent and immanent
Though distinguished from the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is represented as equal with the Father and the Son in the great Trinitarian passages of the New Testament.
- Matt 3:16-17
- Matt 28:19
_______
For more information on Oneness Pentecostalism, check out these resources from Cultish:
Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/578eEaZ0MHOxVbLUntxOOu?si=I9ram__mTYKVRr7EaiFRlg
Part 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2uER1EtRVO7iFuLxnbe9jc?si=bb50a35241c14a4e
Part 3: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Gq8YmvnEmpGDNMe59WJEW?si=b065c77e4dc94d90
In this episode, we review everything that we have discussed so far in our Systematic Theology series so that we can catch up on key issues before continuing our study.
I. What is Systematic Theology?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4T3YDtB4KiaF4WWlB7KpJo?si=2c1aa04ed21d4aff
II. The Doctrine of the Word
The Bible is inspired (verbal plenary inspiration), inerrant, infallible, trustworthy and sufficient.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6CAZp4n3UmD9RnCWONrBMu?si=c7caa16468624e09
III. The Existence and the Attributes of God
- Attributes of God (part 1): https://open.spotify.com/episode/4XTp0go7kJ6qstnM5lOZEk?si=d6cb0abfda2d4484
- Attributes of God (part 2):https://open.spotify.com/episode/23izHJY7r7w36Kxr3JKUE5?si=5e07bdbb2f124e57
IV. The Doctrine of Creation
What do you believe about Creation?https://open.spotify.com/episode/7q7Ob9xIA0hRJ2O5MHTFK1?si=d8fcbb998ae3490e
Wrong Views of Creation:https://open.spotify.com/episode/1nqLTrjNNp6moobKgWniaw?si=7180c0bf91df49be
V. The Doctrine of Providence
How does God take care of Creation? https://open.spotify.com/episode/6UmeXjLZ2xXfwIjKXFiaVX?si=9cfa349e01714f37
Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Rcm5eynsk4jfnuyPVsDut?si=cc00ac51f0934e6f
VI. Biblical Anthropology
Doctrine of Sin:https://open.spotify.com/episode/0y8RizVhQSvJSlIzJuahKe?si=147be8f11ec04a2d
VII. The Doctrine of Christology
Does the Bible teach that Jesus is fully God?https://open.spotify.com/episode/6d24qS9CTJjetezZBiMAqs?si=18429fc95d414cf1
Could Jesus have sinned? https://open.spotify.com/episode/3bHZU6HtRPP7BUKYsaFUdw?si=6fe7e8f082654d44
VII. The Work of Christ
Jesus in my place: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5UQgBj7gkmlWSVUOQpyOQO?si=a3d6c777c5c74f8c
Why is Jesus’ bodily resurrection important? https://open.spotify.com/episode/26WaxeXhgDvNnFjteFkErz?si=06e5828f040549c5
In this episode, we continue our discussion on how our unique gender roles are a good gift of God and how God instructs that we live those out within a local church context.
Our study takes us to examine two main chapters: 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 11.
- 1 Timothy 2:8-15
A. The Context: False Teaching in Ephesus
Eee 1 Tim. 1:3-7, 1:18-20; 4:1-3; 6:3-5, 20-21. These false teachers seemed especially to target vulnerable women, such as young widows (1 Tim. 5:14-15; 2 Tim. 3:6). And from the verses we just read in 1 Tim. 2, it appears these teachers may have been influencing women in the church to live ungodly lives that affected the way they dressed as well as their understanding of their God-given roles in the church.
B. A Call to Learn Quietly with Submissiveness (vs. 11)
C. Two Restrictions (vs. 12)
The firstrestrictionis that women are not permitted to teach men.
Does this mean then that the Bible prohibits women from teaching at all?
The second restriction is that a woman is not permitted to have authority over a man.
What is the basis for the instruction we’ve seen in verses 11-12? Let’s look at verses 13-14 where we find 2 particular reasons.
D. Two Reasons for These Restrictions
Reason 1: in verse 13 we read, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve.”
Reason 2 for these restrictions is verse 14: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”
What about the phrase “saved through childbearing?”
- 1 Corinthians 11:3-16
3 major principles from this text:
A) God expects women to serve publicly in the church by praying and prophesying.
B) God calls women to serve in the church in a way that clearly showcases their feminine identity.
C.) Male teaching authority in the church doesn’t invalidate the equality of interdependence.
In this special episode of Basecamp, we have a sermon from Charles (one of our members who leads Trails Youth), and he is preaching from 2 Timothy 4:6-8 a sermon entitled, "The Christian's Noble fight"
Welcome back to our systematic theology discussion on the work of Jesus. In this episode, we specifically talk about why Jesus' bodily resurrection is so important for us. This episode picks up on our conversation from this past Sunday's sermon, which can be accessed here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3me7m9NpS19lnhSQXDwCZy?si=62d9f1491ed1414a.
Scripture references for you to examine the resurrection of Jesus (Psalm 16:8-11; Isa. 53:10; Matt. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; 28:1-20; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:32-34; 16:1-8; Luke 9:22; 18:31-33; 24:1-53; John 2:19-22; 10:17-18; 20:1–21:25; Acts 2:32; Romans 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3-4, 12-22; Heb. 7:16, 24-25)
What Jesus’ resurrection ensures for us:
- Christ’s resurrection ensures our justification (Rom. 4:25)
- Christ’s resurrection ensures our regeneration (1 Peter 1:3; Eph. 2:5-6)
- Christ’s resurrection ensures that we will receive resurrection bodies like His (1 Cor. 6:14; 2 Cor. 4:14; 1 Cor. 15:12-58)
Jesus’ constant intercession for us, thus guaranteeing our salvation to the end.
(Leviticus 16; Psalm 110:4; Isaiah 53:12; John 17; Romans 8:31-34; Hebrews 6:19–20; 7:25; 8:3; 9:11–14, 24; 1 John 2:1-2; )
Book Recommendations:
Love Thy Body: https://www.amazon.ca/Love-Thy-Body-Answering-Questions/dp/0801075971/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Q35551RS48EF&keywords=love+thy+body+nancy+pearcey&qid=1650768389&sprefix=love+thy+body%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-1
Embodied: https://www.amazon.ca/Embodied-Living-Whole-People-Fractured-ebook/dp/B08MXVM8SY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1650768414&sr=8-1
The Second Coming of Jesus
1) Jesus’ return ensures that we will be with Him.
2) Jesus’s Return Also Brings Resurrection; not just for Christians, but for everyone, and there is a final judgment and eternal blessing or punishment.
4 things that Jesus’ return will bring.
1) Jesus’s Return Brings unspeakable and everlasting Joy.
2) Jesus’s Return Brings Deliverance
3) Jesus’s Return Brings the Kingdom and Our Inheritance
4) Jesus’s Return Brings Cosmic Restoration
In this episode, we consider the work of Jesus and what comforts there are for Christians in considering all that Jesus has accomplished for us.
Specifically, we discuss:
Jesus as:
1) Prophet
2) Priest
3) King
Three aspects of Jesus' work:
1) Incarnation
2) Perfect Life, fulfilling all righteousness
3) Substitutionary Death (Penal Substitutionary Atonement: and why all these words are important for the Christian)
Why is this important to know, what comforts arise from studying the work of Christ?
1) Propitiation
2) Expiation
3) Purification
Is the Bible simply a messy, ancient book? Or is it profitable for all of life and godliness?
Are the Bible's words simply the words of fallible, sinful men? Or is it the very words of God for us, inspired and inerrant and infallible?
These are the topics that Aaron covered at Trinity Fellowship this past weekend, helping correct some of the errant views prevalent in many churches today. We hope this audio is beneficial in leading to a more robust, confident trust in God and in His Word.
In this episode, we are considering how our masculinity and femininity has been designed to be lived out right here within our local church.
What is true for all men and women within the local church?
Scripture expects men and women to participate in the vast majority of the church’s ministry and practices.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11
7 Ways We Build up the Body of Christ
-
Participating in the Public Gatherings
-
Reading, Praying & Prophesying
-
Exercising Governance with the Congregation
-
Serving in the role of Deacon
-
Teaching and Leading
-
Ministering to Children
-
Countless Other Ministries.
Question: If men and women both serve in such vital ways, why does God reserve teaching to the gathered church and the office of elder to men?
-
Firstly, Elders provide for the church through biblical teaching.
-
Elders protect the church from falsehood.
-
Elders lead the church by their example.
-
Elders bear responsibility before God for the wellbeing of the church.
In this episode, we discuss practical marriage implications of submission and leadership for Christian Marriages. Specifically, how do wives submit to their husbands? How do husbands lead in a considerate and selfless way? In answering these questions, we dive into 1 Peter 3:1-7 and see what these things mean (and what they don't mean) and how we ought to live our lives as Christians.
Wives:
Godly submission is powerful, beautiful and rewarding.
What does this attitude of submission look like in a marriage?
- It involves “respectful and pure conduct,”
- This attitude of submission isn’t seen in a woman’s external clothing, but in “the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.”
- This submissive posture helps a woman trust and do good, not fear.
Husbands:
Godly leadership is considerate and selfless.
- Know Her
- Cherish/Honour her
Practical Marriage Questions:
1. How should husbands and wives make decisions?
2. How should a husband and wife manage other duties and responsibilities?
3. How should husband and wife lead, care for, and discipline their children?
Additional Resources:
1 Peter Sermon on Marriage: https://open.spotify.com/episode/02xM97P7yhW0Otb5u5CObn?si=aeb0616742664e56
The Meaning of Marriage book: https://www.amazon.ca/Meaning-Marriage-Facing-Complexities-Commitment/dp/1594631875/ref=sr_1_2?crid=13PEYD6MS28ET&keywords=keller+marriage&qid=1646708294&sprefix=keller+marriag%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-2
I. Biblical Masculinity and Femininity in the Context of Singleness.
A. The Bible Celebrates Singleness for Men and Women.
B. The Single Christian Expresses Manhood or Womanhood in the Family of God.
For [single] men:
- First, you can provide for other men spiritually, and you can also provide for the ministry financially
- Second, you can take responsibility as a member to help protect the church in its doctrine. Study the Word for your own soul first, and then do it so that you might be equipped to teach it to others faithfully.
- Third, you should strive either to be an elder some day or at least to walk in the integrity that characterizes elders according to the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
- And lastly, seek to protect the ladies in the church in appropriate ways,
For [single] women:
- First, we saw in Gen 2:18 that Eve was created as Adam’s “suitable helper.” This means that you can express your femininity through a helpful, encouraging, eager-to-serve disposition. So take that posture and apply it to your service to the church as a single woman.
- Secondly, it’s also feminine to nurture the spiritual health of other women.
- cultivate spiritual beauty as you relate to your brothers in Christ, married and unmarried.
II. Biblical Masculinity and Femininity in the Context of Marriage
Men and women are created equal, but with distinct, God-given roles within the family: the husband lovingly leads as provider and protector, and the wife respectfully submits to her husband as helper.
Ephesians 5
Here are 4 observations we can make from this passage:
1. Paul calls wives to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord.
- The husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church.
3. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church.
4. Marriage speaks to the world about Christ’s relationship with his church.
Could Jesus have sinned?
Were there things that Jesus didn’t know?
As we examine the Humanity of Jesus, questions like these arise from time to time. So, how would we answer these questions using the Bible? And what does Scripture teach us?
In this episode, we dive into a discussion on the humanity of Jesus: what it means for Jesus to be fully man?
We examine the Virgin birth, bodily weaknesses and limitations, and His sinless humanity. We then ask a few questions of how to apply this knowledge of Jesus’ humanity into our lives and wrap up by considering how Jesus’ divine nature and human nature are demonstrably on display within the Bible.
Resources:
The Man Christ Jesus: https://www.amazon.ca/Man-Christ-Jesus-Theological-Reflections-ebook/dp/B00A3L0G5U/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PCHLDP5B8GNV&keywords=the+man+christ+Jesus&qid=1646097694&sprefix=the+man+christ+jesus%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-1
Knowing God by JI Packer: https://www.amazon.ca/Knowing-God-J-I-Packer/dp/0830848614/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1LDVWS02NN2YJ&keywords=knowing+God+JI+Packer&qid=1646097723&sprefix=knowing+god+ji+packer%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1
What does the Bible say about Femininity? And how are women especially designed by God to be a blessing in our culture, within marriages, and in the life of the church?
In this episode, we give this Summary Statement of Biblical Femininity:
Biblical femininity is displayed in a gracious disposition to cultivate life, to help others flourish, and to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in particular contexts prescribed by God’s Word.
We then proceed to explain this definition as we walk through the episode.
We also preached through 1 Peter 3 a few months ago in a sermon entitled "Countercultural Marriage" and this would be a great complementary episode to listen to especially in regards to marriage and what it means for wives to submit to their unbelieving husband: https://open.spotify.com/episode/02xM97P7yhW0Otb5u5CObn?si=e603d7c34c8d46ef
In this episode of Basecamp, we discuss the divinity of Jesus as taught in the Bible and why this is important for Christians to reflect upon for our own lives and as we share the Gospel and make disciples.
6 ways the New Testament teaches that Jesus is God.
1. Jesus is called God and Lord (Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 2:11; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13)
2. Not only that, but, secondly, Jesus claimed to be God (John 8:58, 10:30)
3. Jesus Christ is presented as the object of the believer’s faith and trust (John 14:1; 17:3; 2 Cor. 5:15; Eph. 3:12; 5:23; Col. 1:27; 1 Thes 1:3 1 Tim. 1:1)
4. Jesus is presented as the object of the believer’s worship (Matt 2:10-11, 28:17; John 5:23; Phil. 2:9–11; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:12)
5. Jesus Christ is described as both being God and performing the very works of God (John 1:1-3, 14-18; Hebrews 1:1-4; Colossians 1:15-20)
6) From eternity past, just like God the Father and God the Spirit, He has always existed prior to His incarnation (1 Cor. 8:6; 10:4, 9; 2 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 4:4; Rom 8:3; Col. 1:15-20; Phil 2:6; 1 Tim 1:15; 3:16; 2 Tim 1:9-10).
Council of Chalcedon (451 AD): “We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood [perfect here means complete in all respects]; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood [consubstantial means having the same substance or essence of being]; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly [that means not mixed up or in disorder], unchangeable, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
Why does the deity of Christ matter?
-
The deity of Christ matters for revelation.
-
The deity of Christ matters for salvation.
-
The deity of Christ matters for all of the Christian life, for how we live from this moment onwards.
Sermon Resource:
How God Became Man (from our Miracles Sermon Series): https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Zvh53pqN7pMUYFS2KFtqz?si=cxSRPd7fRQ21QOzPMSTFnw
In this episode, we discuss Biblical Femininity and what it means to be a godly woman.
1) Women have far greater dignity and worth than the world ascribes to them: they are created in the image of God to display his glory throughout the universe.
2) Women have a far greater problem than the world recognizes: the problem of sin and rebellion against God. But they also have a far greater Savior than the world offers: A Sinless Servant who was radical in the way he befriended women and offered them life.
3) Women have been given instruction by this Savior in His Word on how they are to express their femininity.
Before we dive in, we discuss:
1) how women called to seek godliness.
2) understanding that creation is fallen
3) sometimes describes femininity in the context of a marriage relationship (but how we can also look at single ladies in Scripture to see exemplary, strong women)
Genesis 1-3.
Eve was to be Adam’s equal, with her own distinct gifts, who would complement him in every way even as she submitted to his leadership in their marriage. She would improve his weaknesses and sharpen his strengths. She was to use her wisdom, strength, perspective, insight, and creativity to helphim in ways that he crucially needs.
Matthew Henry: “the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”
Femininity tends to involve what we’re going to call a relational disposition; women in particular seem designed to be relationally oriented and to use their strength and energy to nurture and bring life to others - they are the relational centres of their homes, binding others together in life-giving and nourishing ways.
Paul exhorts women in Titus 2:3 to train other women in godliness.
Luke 8:3 with Mary, Joanna, Susanna, and others provide for the needs of Jesus and his followers. Not just physically, but spiritually, give your lives to helping our church sustain and nurture spiritual life in those around you.
Proverbs 31
- She uses her strength selflessly and wisely. And this woman is strong
- Her endeavors bless her family and community. This principle still applies to you sisters who are single! Tabitha in Acts 9:36, Phoebe in Romans 16:1.
- This woman fears the Lord (verse 30).
- We ought to see this example from Lady Wisdom as freeing, not discouraging.
More info on from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (https://cbmw.org)
In this episode, we discuss the doctrine of sin and why it's important to study as Christians.
Three things about all sin generally:
- First, notice how their sin sought to redefine the basis for knowledge: it gave a different answer to the question: “What is true?” Part of the way sin works is to convince us that God’s word isn’t trustworthy. Sin begins with believing a lie and disbelieving God and then it makes its way into the world through our actions. So, sin seeks to redefine the basis for knowledge by giving a different answer to the question: “What is true?”
- Then, secondly, sin seeks to redefine at the basis for moral standards: see how it gave a different answer to the question “What is right?” Now, God had said that it was morallyright of Adam and Eve not to eat from the fruit of that one tree (Gen. 2:17). But the serpent suggested that it would be right to eat of the fruit, and that in eating it Adam and Eve would become “like God” (Gen. 3:5). Eve trusted her own evaluation of what was right rather than allowing God’s words to define right and wrong. So, we need to beware in our own lives, for how often do we do that in regards to moral standards? We like to create our own moral standards or join with the world’s moral standards, either passively or actively. And when we don’t follow God’s Word in answering that question, we create a self-made morality.
- And thirdly, Adam and Eve’s sin sought to redefine the basis for identity: it gave a different answer to the question, “Who am I?” The correct answer was that Adam and Eve were God’s creatures, dependent on him and always to be subordinate to him as their Creator and Lord. But Eve, and then Adam, succumbed to the temptation to “be like God” (Gen. 3:5), thus attempting to put themselves in the place of God.
And before we close our episode, I want to give us seven statements that help us to understand the Doctrine of Sin:
1. Inherited Guilt: meaning: We are counted guilty because of Adam’s sin.
2. Inherited Corruption: We have a sinful nature because of Adam’s sin.
3. Total Depravity: In our natural state we lack spiritual good before God.
4. Total Inability: In our actions we are unable to do spiritual good before God.
5. All are sinful before God.
6. A single sin makes us legally guilty before God.
7. We deserve God’s eternal wrath because of our sin.
In this episode of BaseCamp, we continue our conversation on Biblical Masculinity.
Definition: BIBLICAL MASCULINITY IS DISPLAYED IN A SENSE OF BENEVOLENT RESPONSIBILITY TO TEND GOD’S CREATION, PROVIDE FOR AND PROTECT OTHERS, AND EXPRESS LOVING, SACRIFICIAL LEADERSHIP IN PARTICULAR CONTEXTS PRESCRIBED BY GOD’S WORD.
1. Biblical masculinity expresses itself not in the demand to be served, but in the strength to serve and to sacrifice for the good of others.
2. Biblical masculinity doesn’t have to initiate every action, but feels the responsibility to provide a general pattern of initiative.
3. Biblical masculinity accepts the burden of the final say, but doesn’t presume to use it in every instance.
- And then, fourthly, biblical masculine leadership is a call to repentance and humility
Welcome back to BaseCamp as we are walking through one of the most important discussions that Christians across Canada are processing through, right now, in light of the recent passing of Bill C-4; namely, is the historic Christian understanding of human sexuality and gender a position that leads to the flourishing of men and women?
What does it mean to be a man?
Is there anything distinctive about manhood? And even if there is something to being “masculine,” .. is it good?
This episode: what God says about true masculinity.
Genesis 1:26-27 | The Bible begins by stating that men and women are equally made in the image of God. They share equal value, worth, dignity, and importance. There is no superiority, and no inferiority.
Men and women are designed by God to complement each other with distinct dispositions and beautiful roles to play according to his design.
Gender isa construct – a divine one.Men and women share a common humanity, equal in value, but we’re not identical.
4 opening considerations
1) We should distinguish manhood from boyhood.
2) To live as a godly man, seek godliness.
3) What tends to be distinctive about being a godly man in particular.
4) Whenever we study God’s creation design, we need to remember that creation is fallen.
IV. Foundations for Biblical Masculinity
A. Adam, the Ground (Adamah), and Exercising Dominion
B. Working and Keeping
C. A Pattern of Responsibility
V. Trust the Perfect Man
Recommended Resources:
Future Men: https://www.amazon.ca/Future-Men-Raising-Fight-Giants/dp/1591281105/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19FC8QVF4ZIHX&keywords=future+men+book&qid=1642647457&sprefix=future+men+book%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-1
The Masculine Mandate:https://www.amazon.ca/Masculine-Mandate-Gods-Calling-Men/dp/1567696848/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ZD7K4XYPHFRU&keywords=the+masculine+mandate&qid=1642647527&sprefix=masculine+manda%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1
Deeper: https://www.amazon.ca/Deeper-Real-Change-Sinners/dp/1433573997/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1871OGS5PQ8XZ&keywords=deeper+book&qid=1642647583&sprefix=deeper+book%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2
Welcome back to our study in Systematic Theology.
In this study, we are diving back in to our discussion on the doctrine of providence.
In thinking through the doctrine of providence, we might wonder:
- How exactly are we to understand divine sovereignty and human freedom to work hand-in-hand?
- If God is sovereign, then why are we held responsible for the evil things that we do and why isn’t God responsible?
- How can God be good and powerful and there still be evil in the world?
Biblical “Givens” - what Scripture makes clear to us concerning divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
3 propositions:
- First – God is absolutely sovereign, but his sovereignty never functions in such a way that human responsibility is curtailed, minimized, or mitigated.
- Second - Human beings are morally responsible creatures – they significantly choose, rebel, obey, believe, defy, and make decisions
- Third – Despite everything Scripture says about God’s sovereignty, the Bible insists that God is perfectly good. God is never presented as an accomplice of evil, or as secretly malicious.
How do we begin to put these three truths together in some compatible way so that we can answer the 3 questions from before?
Compatibilism. DA Carson definition
Thus, the Bible presents these two propositions as compatible, not as incompatible.
-
Joseph
-
Job
-
Jesus
What do we do with all of this?
-
Look at the cross. Romans 5:6-9. Trust that, while we may not understand how it all works together, and why does this or does that, we can be sure that God is a good and faithful God, because he sent his own Son to die for our eternal lives.
-
Look at the end. Rev. 21:3-4: Trust that, while we may not understand God’s sovereignty in all of its respects, we do know how it is going to end. We know what all of this is divine action is working toward – and it’s our own salvation!
John Piper’s book "Spectacular Sins” outlines these things as applications:
Eight Things to Do with Evil
-
Expect evil. “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12).
-
Endure evil. “Love bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7; cf. Mark 13:13).
-
Give thanks for the refining effect of evil that comes against you. “Give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20; cf. 1 Thess. 5:18). “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance . . .” (Rom. 5:3–5).
-
Hate evil. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9).
-
Pray for escape from evil. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).
-
Expose evil. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of dark- ness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:11).
-
Overcome evil with good. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).
-
Resist evil. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7).
Four Things Never to Do with Evil
-
Never despair that this evil world is out of God’s control. “[He] works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11).
-
Never give in to the sense that because of seemingly random evil, life is absurd and meaningless. “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! . . . For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for- ever” (Rom. 11:33, 36).
-
Never yield to the thought that God sins or is ever unjust or unrighteous in the way he governs the universe. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways” (Ps. 145:17).
-
Never doubt that God is totally for you in Christ.
Welcome to BaseCamp, the equipping ministry of the Trails Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This podcast channel is meant to come alongside of our normal rhythms as a church and is geared towards equipping us, as christians, in understanding the Gospel, the Bible, and how Christians ought to live as a response of what we believe to be true from the Bible, while holding out the truths of the Gospel to those that have not placed their faith and trust upon Jesus.
Two opening questions:
1) What does it mean to be a man?
2) What does it mean to be a woman?
PRELIMINARIES
First, let me explain how I’m using that word “gender.” As I’ve mentioned, some today differentiate between “sex,” and “gender,” arguing that sex is only biological while gender refers to cultural, psychological and behavioral aspects of masculinity and femininity. I understand that distinction, and that is how many employ these terms now, but what I want to argue in this class is that gender is a more comprehensive category. It includes the sex of our bodies, whether we are born as men or women and it also extends to the dispositions that God has designed us to have as men and women. So I’m using gender to refer to both sexual differentiation and the dispositions and roles God has given to us.
How? What’s our methodology? In this series, we will rely on the sufficiency of Scripture - we are a people of the Book, we trust and love the Bible - and we believe that the Bible is authoritative and completely true, inerrant and infallible and sufficient for all that we need for life and for godliness. As Paul told Timothy, scripture equips the man of God for “every good work.” And we pray that it will continue to do so for us.
- prescriptive and descriptive
Main outline of episode:
A. Creation.
B. Fall.
C. Redemption in Christ.
D. Restoration.
Resources:
Love Thy Body by Nancy Pearcey: https://www.amazon.ca/Love-Thy-Body-Answering-Questions/dp/0801075971/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu9bClqmr9QIV4MmUCR21IgjIEAAYAiAAEgKSNPD_BwE&hvadid=249463820851&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001173&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1436551444225065368&hvtargid=kwd-397001323824&hydadcr=21195_10682716&keywords=love+thy+body+nancy+pearcey&qid=1641959875&sr=8-1
God Made Boys and Girls: https://www.amazon.ca/God-Made-Boys-Girls-Understand/dp/164507031X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AM6QPXVMIW87&keywords=God+made+boys+and+girls&qid=1641959910&sprefix=god+made+boys+and+girls%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1
Is God Anti-Gay? https://www.amazon.ca/God-Anti-Gay-Sam-Allberry/dp/1908762314/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NS9YRAF2YG89&keywords=is+god+anti-gay+by+sam+allberry&qid=1641959933&sprefix=Is+God+an%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-1
In this episode, we will consider two main things:
- What the doctrine of providence is, and;
- Several implications of the doctrine of providence for our lives.
What is Providence? Specifically, when we talk about “providence”, we are talking about God’s Ongoing Relationship with Creation
God’s providence causes to continue what has already been called into existence, and He does it by (1) sustaining it; (2) working in and through it; and (3) directing it for his good purposes. These three avenues are called (1) preservation, (2) concurrence, and (3) government.
- Preservation: God Upholds and Sustains All Things
(Heb 1:3; Col. 1:17; Neh. 9:6; Job 34:14-15)
- Concurrence: God Works In and Through All Things
(Gen. 45:5; Eph. 1:11; Job 37:6-13; Prov. 16:9, 33; Job 14:5; Phil. 2:13)
-
Primary and Secondary Causes
-
Government: God Rules and Directs All Things; thus, He is directing all things for His good purposes; He governs and directs all things according to their appointed purpose.
(Dan 4:35; Rom. 8:28; Ps. 103:19)
A. God’s governing activity is universal and does not merely extend to his own people. It extends to all matters and all men
B. God is good in his government.
C. God is personally concerned about those who are his
D. God is sovereign in his government.
Why does this matter?
1) Belief in God’s providence means that we can trust God for all things because he has already handled our biggest problem … sin.
2) God’s providence also means that we can be patient in adversity. I
3) This also leads us to gratitude
4) the doctrine of providence is meant to lead us to hope
Recommended Resources:
Spectacular Sins (free Ebook by John Piper): https://www.desiringgod.org/books/spectacular-sins
Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology: https://www.amazon.ca/Systematic-Theology-Introduction-Biblical-Doctrine/dp/0310286700/ref=asc_df_0310286700/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292994319506&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1291156945323154158&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001173&hvtargid=pla-434015156820&psc=1
Today, we are picking back up on that thread as we are thinking through what God’s relationship is like with the creation that he has made? And How we understand that question makes all the distinction between Christianity and false religions. And so first, we’re going to look at four view non-Christian views. Then we’ll look specifically at how the Bible describes God’s relationship to creation. And finally, we look at the crown jewel of creation – humankind. Specifically, how God created male and female in his image to extend his kingly dominion over creation. And our big, overall question is: what does that mean for us and who we are?
Four Non-Christian Views of God
1. Pantheism - and this view teaches that God is everything (so, the word “pan” means “all” and “theism” is that root word of “theos”, or “god”); thus, this view holds that everything is God.
One great challenge to Pantheism is that the divine exists as much in the most morally reprehensible acts as it does in beauty or delicious food. Even more importantly, there’s no God on the outside who can break in and rescue us; thus there is no ultimate justice and no hope of deliverance; there is only acceptance.
2. Dualism – Dual = 2 (Good and Evil). Duel = A Battle. Thus dualism is a battle b/w good and bad. And good and evil are in a long, protracted cosmic battle for supremacy.
- Star Wars
3. Deism – Deism is the view that God is not presently involved in creation. He created it, but is now distant and removed from what He made. God created the world, but he doesn’t have anything to do with it anymore (divine clockmaker)
4. Materialism (or naturalism). Materialism says we live in a closed world. No force from the outside, call it God or whatever you like, can enter in and disturb the physical world. Our lives are governed purely by impersonal laws operating over strictly natural phenomena.
Undoubtedly, then, you can see how these four views run contrary to the Biblical account, for they either deny God’s superiority over his creation or they obliterate his relationship with it.
II. God’s Relationship to Creation
Transcendence
Immanence
II. How God created male and female in his image to extend his kingly dominion over creation.
Genesis 2:7, 21-22, 1:27
3 things in particular. We image God:
- in our essence/nature.
- functionally
- relationally
Conclusion: Why does the doctrine of creation matter?
In this episode, we bring to a close our parenthood series and, as we do, we don't give a list of things to "do"; rather, we give 7 things that we should "NOT" do as Parents:
1. Don’t miss it.
2. Next, as parents, Don’t be hypercritical towards your kids.
3. The third is: Don’t be surprised by disobedience.
4. Fourthly, Don’t assume you know how your kids will turn out.
5. Fifthly, Don’t fear.
6. Sixthly, as a parent, don’t pretend that you have it all together - besides, your kids know that you don’t!
7. Don’t just be “transcendent.”
Literal 6 days? Not a literal 6 days? Old Earth? Young Earth?
We started our Systematic Theology podcast series by understanding the importance of the Bible and seen some of the attributes of God.
Now, we turn to study the topic of many hotly debated texts: Creation.
In this discussion, we discuss:
7 BIBLICAL TRUTHS ABOUT CREATION
-
God created the universe out of nothing.
-
Secondly, God created all things --- both visible and invisible, both in the heavens and the earth.
-
God created time.
-
God created by his word.
-
Creation is a Triune Act
-
Sixthly, The Universe God Created was “Very Good.”
-
And our last point: God Created the Universe to Show His Glory.
Various Christian views on Creation:
(1) Theistic Evolution.
(2) The Gap Theory.
(3) Day-Age View.
(4) Literary-Framework View.
(5) Young-Earth Creationism.
(6) Historic-Creationism.
Commonalities in all six views that demarcate them as “Christian”:
1) God is the creator over everything
2) He created everything as Good
3) God created Mankind in His image (imago dei preserved)
In this episode, we are continuing our Parenthood study and talking about how we navigate the tricky waters of technology with our kids.
Is Technology helping us:
- be present in our families?
- be alert?
- be transformed?
- grow in wisdom?
- be patient?
- be content?
- be real?
- pray?
- be humble?
- be stewards of what God has entrusted to us?
Bonus Question: Is technology helping me to be holy?
________
Examples for “Digital Boundaries”
• Do not check my smartphone until after my morning devotions.
- Turn notifications off
• Try to end my digital day by 9:00 p.m.
• Don’t check my smartphone when having lunch or dinner with a friend, or leave phone in car.
• Take a digital fast every Sunday (or start with every Sunday afternoon)
• No digital gadgets at mealtimes.
• Limit checking emails or texts to once an hour.
• Try not to talk on the phone to virtual people when real people are in front of me.
- Pray daily for God to help me become a good steward of my virtual life.
Recommended Reading:
- Protecting Your Family from the Digital Invasion (Focus on the Family broadcast)
- The Digital Invasion by Dr. Archibald Hart
- Fake Love, Fake War: Why So Many Men Are Addicted to Internet Porn and Video Games by Russ Moore (on DesiringGod.org)
- Don’t Let the Screen Strangle Your Soul by Kevin DeYoung
Welcome back to basecamp as we are continuing our study of systematic theology as a church and are exploring, in this episode, part two of last week’s discussion and diving in to examine some of the attributes of God.
1. The Unity of God
Everything God does is fully consistent with all of his attributes; there are no contradictions in his character. Exodus 34:6-7
2. God is Triune
3 questions:
A. What does the doctrine of the Trinity mean?
Wayne Grudem’s definition: “God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.” Deut 6:4; Isaiah 45:5, 21.
But this God is a unity of three distinct “Persons.” The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. But the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. Each person plays a distinct role in the harmonious work of redemption.
The Belgic Confession of 1561 put it this way: “The Father is the cause, origin, and source of all things, visible as well as invisible. The Son is the Word, the Wisdom, and the image of the Father. The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might, proceeding from the Father and the Son. Nevertheless, this distinction does not divide God into three, since Scripture teaches us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each has a distinct subsistence [which means personhood] distinguished by characteristics—yet in such a way that these three persons are only one God…. These persons, thus distinct, are neither divided nor fused or mixed together.”
B. How does Scripture teach the doctrine of the Trinity?
Tertullian
Matt 3:16-17
Matt 28:19
John 14-17
C. Why does the Trinity Matter?
More attributes of God’s Character:
3. God’s Omniscience – His Perfect Knowledge
4. Truthfulness
5. Wisdom
6. Holiness
Jonathan Edwards: Religious Affections and Writings on the Trinity, Grace, and Faith
7. Justice/Righteousness
8. Goodness/Love
Don Carson’s, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (FREE PDF: https://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/carson/2000_difficult_doctrine_of_the_love_of_God.pdf)
- Intra-trinitarian love between the Father, Son and Spirit.
- God’s providential love over all he has made.
- Mankind in Imago-Dei imago dei and he lovingly invites all to repent.
- God’s particular, effective, selecting love toward his elect
In this episode, we examine the unique call we have to pastor our teenagers.
Proverbs’ teaching about Youth:
- No hunger for wisdom or correction.
- A tendency toward legalism.
- A tendency to be unwise in their choice of companions.
- A susceptibility to sexual temptation.
- An absence of eschatological (end times) perspective.
- A lack of heart awareness.
Goals with our Teenagers:
Goal 1: Focus on the Spiritual Struggle.
Goal 2: Develop a heart of conviction and wisdom (p128).
Goal 3: Teach our teenagers to understand and react redemptively with their culture.
Goal 4: Try to develop a heart for God and godliness in your teen.
Goal 5: Prepare your teenagers to leave home.
Practical thoughts:
- Empathize.
- Be deliberate and intentional
- Strive for constant conversation.
- Ask questions.
- Don’t lecture.
In this episode, we build upon our former discussions and begin answering these two questions:
- Is there a God?
- And What is God like? (What are his attributes?)
If someone were to ask you how you know God exists, what would you say?
1.) generally to all men by creation and providence;
2.) propositionally in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments;
3.) personally in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and
4.) and savingly through the work of His Word and Spirit. (repeat)
Proofs of God: Creation and Conscience (General Revelation)
General revelation is that unveiling of God, the knowledge of God’s being and will which is given to all people everywhere, at all times, through the ordinary experience of being alive in God’s world. [Ps. 19:1, 2; Rom. 1:19, 20; 2:14, 15]
Special revelation is this: it is how God has made himself known by particular acts and words, especially the Word of the Lord (Scripture), and the Lord of the Word (Jesus).
Romans 1-2 discussion.
Helpful Resource: The God who is there by DA Carson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO2ZodTbNdU
God’s Incommunicable Attributes
1. The Independence or Self-Existence of God (Ex 3.14; Ps 50:8-15; See Also Ps. 33:11; 115:3; Isa. 40:18 ff.; Dan. 4:35; John 5:26; Rom. 11:33-36; Acts 17:25; Rev. 4:11.) God’s existence and character are determined by Himself alone and are not dependent on anyone or anything else.
- God is immutable. God in his nature, character, and purposes, does not change.
3. God is Infinite: Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Eternal
- omnipresent (present-everywhere). This means that God transcends spatial limitations, is without size, and is present at every point of space with his whole being.
- omnipotent (all-powerful). God is able to do all that He decides to do. God can do everything that He wills to do and is consistent with his character.
- eternal. God transcends the very limitations of time. He has no beginning or end.
Resource: AW Tozer's book "Knowledge of the Holy" as FREE PDF: https://www.restoringthecore.com/wp-content/restored/AW-Tozer-Knowledge-of-the-Holy.pdf
Picking back up on our discussion around Parenthood and gender roles in this episode.
References to these books are made:
Carolyn Mahaney: Feminine Appeal
Carolyn McCulley: Radical Womanhood
John Piper (et al): Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood James Dobson: Bringing Up Girls
How do we be healthy launch team members of the Trails Church?
The Health of our church “depends on the willingness of its members to inspect their hearts, correct their thinking, and apply their hands to the work of the ministry.” (9Marks)
A Healthy Launch Team Member is a Biblical Theologian
We want to be those who strive to have our theology built upon the Bible - to test all things against God’s Word and to rely upon His Word above everything.
Commitment to being a Biblical Theologian, in essence, is these two things:
- Firstly, to know God through His Word, the Bible.
- Secondly, to have our theology shaped by the Bible is to know the overarching storylines of Scripture.
How does studying biblical theology work to promote health in our church?
- Practicing biblical theology helps us grow in our reverence for God.
- Practicing biblical theology helps us to overcome our wrong ideas.
- Practicing biblical theology helps protect our church against doctrinal controversies.
- The practice of biblical theology is necessary to fulfilling the Great Commission.
So, how do we grow in being biblical theologians?
1. Read a good book on biblical theology.
- Vaughn Roberts, God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible
- Mark Strom, The Symphony of Scripture: making sense of the Bible’s many themes
- Peter Jensen, At the heart of the Universe: What Christians Believe
- Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible
- Graeme Goldsworthy, The Goldsworthy Trilogy, Gospel and Kingdom, Gospel and Wisdom, and The Gospel in Revelation
2. Study the Scriptures Thematically.
3. Adopt the New Testament’s Attitude toward the Old Testament.
- How is this passage a fulfillment of something promised in the Old Testament?
- How is this New Testament idea different from or similar to an Old Testament teaching?
- In what way does this New Testament passage clarify, unveil, or amplify something from the Old Testament?
4. Study the Old Testament with Jesus and the New Testament in View.
- Where does this passage fit in the time line of redemptive history?
- How does this passage point us to Jesus?
- How does this truth about Israel relate to the New Testament idea of the church?
- How is this passage foundational for an understanding of New Testament Christiantiy? How is this idea or teaching in the Old Testament continuous or discontinuous with the New Testament?
- Which New Testament passages help me to answer these questions?
5. Study the Books of Prophecy in the Old Testament.
6. Know and Agree to support our Statement of Faith, and encourage others to know what our Statement of Faith teaches and professes.
7. Seek doctrinal unity and avoid needless disputes, and help teach others to do the same.
One last note: Quarreling
- think well of one another
- keep short accounts
- if you hear something about someone that seems out of sorts and character, go to the person and decipher what happened before making any conclusions.
Our church will be healthy as we, as launch team members, strive for personal health and corporate health.
Serving @ The Trails Form: https://forms.gle/CvqKwgrd3Z74oVDG6
In this episode, we discuss how the canon of Scripture was developed and also some attributes of Scripture.
Psalm 119:97-104
Canon of Scripture
-
Old Testament
-
New Testament
As Christians, we ultimately affirm that scripture is self-authenticating.
How did the early Christians know which writings came from God and which did not? They spoke of “receiving” or “inheriting” the authoritative books from each previous generation. They saw these books as having authority because they came from God, not because any church or leader put a stamp of approval on them. But they didn’t just accept them blindly. They had four criteria for demonstrating that their acceptance of these books was legitimate.
- Apostolicity
- Antiquity
- Conformity to the rule of faith (orthodoxy)
- Universality
Attributes of Scripture:
- Divinely Inspired: 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21
- Inerrant.
- Infallible.
- We also believe in The Clarity of Scripture
- We believe in The Necessity of Scripture
- We believe in The Sufficiency of Scripture
In this episode, we begin talking about the importance of gender and how God created men and women to display something beautiful about Himself. Specifically, we speak to men and raising young men in this episode.
Recommended Resources:
Future Men by Douglas Wilson
Boyhood and Beyond by Bob Schultz
Bringing up Boys by James Dobson
Created for Work by Bob Schultz
For Guys Only: The Marks of Manhood, Dr. R. Albert Mohler
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001093.cfm Hold Fast in a Broken World by Douglas Bond
The Masculine Mandate by Richard Phillips
Stand Fast in the Way of Truth by Douglas Bond
What is Systematic Theology?
the word “theology” derived from two Greek words, theos, which means “God,” and logos, which means “word” or “message.” Thus, when we speak of systematic theology we mean the orderly arrangement of the study of God into logical, topical divisions.
What is our intention in studying theology:
- For God’s Glory
- Corporately Reflect Christ to Others
- The third intention in studying Systematic Theology is our Individual Sanctification and Growth
- Our fourth intention in studying systematic theology is that Doctrine Matters
Key features of systematic theology.
1) it should be biblically grounded.
The Bible alone is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, finally and fully authoritative for faith and life and sufficient for all that we need to know pertaining to life and godliness. We don’t need additional books, we don’t need additional experiences - no, the Bible is inerrant, infallible, and sufficient.
So, systematic theology is biblically grounded.
2) historically informed.
3) contextualized.
4) Lastly, our systematic theology should be and must be, lived out.
the Doctrine of the Word, the Bible
Ought we to correct and discipline our kids? And to what ends?
I. The nature of our children shows their need for correction and the wisdom it imparts.
Total Depravity
II. This rod is a key tool for driving out foolishness
Proverbs 23:13-14
Prov. 29:15, 17
The rod of correction brings wisdom to the child by: (1) providing an immediate demonstration of the foolishness of rebellion; and (2) imparting to the child a proper fear of punishment.
Hebrews 12:11
A Parental Exercise
An Act of Faith
An Act of Faithfulness
A Responsibility
A Rescue Mission
Ephesians 6:1-2
Prov. 13:24
And there may be lots of other questions that you might have in learning to raise your kids - and one of the joys of having a church community is that we can ask these questions and grow together, especially by connecting with some other godly parents and processing through these things together. And I would encourage you to do so.
Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
What Do You Do When You Can’t Get to the Heart?
The Biblical Basis for Obedience
Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.”
Two qualifying statements to this sentence:
- “in the Lord”
- “for this is right”
Eph 6:2, “ ‘Honor your father and mother’ “—which is the first commandment with a promise — “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Definition of Obedience: Obedience is the willing submission of one person to the authority of another. And this submission is essentially manifested in two ways:
For the child, obedience is more than just doing what he is told.
It means doing what he is told—
- Without Challenge or Excuse
- Without Delay
- Without Grumbling or an Attitude
Practical Tip to help when you are asking your children to do something: have them come to stand before you (physically) before you give them a command.
Teaching Obedience - from our perspective as Parents
-
A Call for Consistency.
-
The same rules, the same standards.
-
A Call to Encouragement. (Book suggestion: https://www.amazon.ca/Future-Men-Raising-Fight-Giants/dp/1591281105)
-
Discernment in our parenting.
-
Remember to be gracious with our kids.
IV. Some parting thoughts:
- Goals for our Parenting
Another reason why we parent is because we want our children to learn to live under gracious, godly authority.
Two dangers we need to avoid:
-
Legalism.
-
Licentiousness.
In this episode, we wrap up our Fear of Man study by thinking through an alternative to fearing man: Loving and Serving.
Thanks for tuning into this podcast. If you'd like more information about the Trails, visit: trailschurch.ca
In this episode, we are continuing our study on Parenthood, and how all of us, as church members, have this wonderful job of discipling the next generation. Last time, we talked about getting to the heart of the behaviour in our kids and how we are tempted to not focus on gospel roots, but rather on fake apples hung up by fishing line, and so, if you missed that episode, I’d suggest going back and listening to it before moving foward. For today, we’re going to talk about communication.
And in this discussion for today, we’ll cover why we communicate, what we communicate, how we communicate, and when and where do we communicate.
So let’s get started with the first one: 1. Why Do We Communicate?
And in answering this, we see two dominant reasons:
- We image God when communicate.
- We are commanded by God to communicate truth to our kids. Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Judges 2:10-12
2. What are we to communicate?
Practical Instructions and God's Word. We are confident that God’s WORD, as it is applied by the Spirit, is able to transform our children’s hearts, desires, affections and will.
3. How Do We Communicate?
In addition to: Rules, Correction, and Discipline
We also are to use things like: Encouragement, Rebuke, Entreaty, Instruction, Warning, Prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
Rebuke: A rebuke censures behavior.
Entreaty (an earnest or humble request): It’s Proverbs 23:26 | It’s entreating your kid when you see them wandering away from the path of wisdom towards the path of folly. We entreat when you see danger like the pull of pornography or sexual immorality, or when you see a cold heart - and we earnestly, with tears in our eyes, beckon them to holiness and away from things that will destroy them.
Instruction or teaching: This is the process of providing a lesson, a precept or information that will help your children to understand and function in their world.
Warning: on guard against a probable danger.
Prayer as a communication: Now, Prayer is not communication with a child, but with God, but it nevertheless is an essential element of communication between the parent and the child. Understanding what and how our children pray is often a window into their souls. And vice versa: a child can see the parent’s heart as he or she entreats their holy God.
4. When and Where Do We Communicate?
Deut 6:4-9 | always and everywhere!
today's topic: We fear that people will harm us.
Welcome back to BaseCamp and to our study about the Fear of Man and how we all struggle to adequately fear God and live out our Christian faith in the cracks of everyday life. In the last few episodes, we have been talking about the fear of exposure and the fear of rejection - and in today’s episode, we will consider the fear of harm from other people. As we have already considered, our fear of others may be multi-faceted. So, Fear of Harm, as we will see, might be woven into our fear of exposure and/or our fear of rejection - and, as we’ve talked about, the solution to each of these fears is the same: fearing God.
Matthew 10:28: It reads, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell”
Physical Harm
Non-physical Harm
Some the ways our relationships with other people can be affected.
1) a cloud of shameful feelings may plague the person who has experienced physical harm in the past.
2) the person struggling with this fear of harm is also likely to struggle with trusting others.
3) Bitterness is a deeper sense of some of these other things.
So, what do we need to Know about the Harmful Person: the one who is harming others?
- They may very likely be controlled by the fear of man
- They need the Gospel, not our fear of them.
- We are all more similar to the harmful person than we are to Christ
How do we, who have harmed others, move forward?
- we need to Repent
- consider the impact of your sin
- remember that you are not only sinning yourself, you are tempting the other person to wrongly fear you. You are in a sense tempting others to change their theology - to get them to quit fearing God and, instead, to fear you in inappropriate ways as and this is the real wickedness in harming others.
And so, how do we respond to the fear of harm?
Like a victim or a stoic?
How does the Gospel begin to address this fear of harm?
- recognize that the worst harm has already been experienced:
- as we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we realize that our sins necessitated His death.
- we recognize that as we follow Christ we will face suffering; this is part of what it means to be a Christian.
- the Gospel also brings us into membership in a new family. His church. A place where those who have been harmed, those who have caused harm, those who have feared, those who have been feared, can all know reconciliation and fellowship because of forgiveness and mercy found through the One who gave Himself for us.
In this episode, we are talking about getting to the heart of the behaviours that our kids develop over time and how the Gospel shapes our everyday encounters with our kids.
We want to correct our kids, but we often focus solely on behaviour and not on the hearts of our kids.
Likewise, in our parenting, we should be concerned not just with the what of behavior, but the why. If we do not focus on the why, on where the behavior came from, we will miss the idols of the heart and, ultimately, miss the Gospel. Which, of course, will not lead us to glorify God and it will not lead our children to faith. Rather, our children will simply learn to be obedient to our whims and desires, and maybe even pretend upon a faith that they don’t have, only to rebel against this in their adulthood - it’s so easy to force behaviour onto people, isn’t it? That’s one thing that we’ve seen in this pandemic. But changing someone’s heart? That’s a miracle that only God can bring about.
I. The importance of the heart
Our children’s behavior is telling us something about their hearts, because all behavior flows from the heart.
A. The heart is the control center of behavior; so behavior reveals the heart.
B. Yet, is our parenting is often designed to control behavior?
Tripp observes: “A change in behavior that does not stem from a change in heart is not commendable; it is condemnable.”
When we focus solely on outward behavior, we encourage our children to become Pharisees.
Let’s try to fight against that by reminding ourselves to go after the heart of our kids. A great book to help us start thinking through these things is Parenting by Paul David Tripp - maybe grab a copy of that and read it to better think about how you might help your kids, and the kids of our church, grow in godliness in this way.
How do we fear people? We fear they will reject us.
In When People Are Big and God Is Small, Ed Welch says, “Closely related to the fear that people will expose us is perhaps the most common reason we are controlled by other people: they can reject, ridicule, or despise us (rejection-fear). They don’t invite us to the party. They ignore us. They don’t like us. They aren’t pleased with us. So, they withhold the acceptance, love, or significance we want from them. As a result, we feel worthless.”
People do reject us.
Rejection hurts.
How do you fear people will reject you, and how do you manifest and deal with this fear?
We fear rejection for who we are: personality, education, job title, socioeconomic position, gender, race, experiences, relationships. You change your personality because you think people will like you better. You seek after a certain degree or job title so that you can be accepted. You fear discrimination because of your race or gender. You fear being rejected by certain people because of other friends you have chosen, or because of our vaccination status or using (or not using) our QR codes.
Fear of Rejection can also come about through perfectionism, or in what clothes we wear (or don't wear), and we see this exhibited in peer pressure. Fear of Rejection can also seep into our evangelism and into our discipleship relationships among fellow Christians.
But how does fearing rejection and desiring approval harm us? Is there any harm?
Pride and Fear of Rejection.
Fear of rejection found in Scripture.
The Gospel: The One who was rejected by man, and by God the Father, that we might be accepted and never taste ultimate rejection. We understand that because of this rejection that Jesus endured for us, any rejection we are called to face in this life will be temporary; just as the approval we so desperately seek to attain is fleeting, so any rejection we do experience will fade and be forgotten quickly.
Response: How does the Gospel intersect our fear of rejection?
What does this look like:
1) At Home
2) At Work
3) In our church
How do we minister to our families?
What the Bible Says About Family Worship? (Deut 6:1-9)
God’s will for His people is that they and their children worship Him, meaning that they serve him with every fiber of their being, in an attitude of awe and love, and that this requires His Word to be on the parent’s hearts and that they impress these commands on their children everywhere they go, during every part of the day.
Christian history shows the high value believers have consistently placed on formal family worship.
What this family worship time might look like for you:
1) Choose a Bible Reading Plan or Kids' Bible to read from
- Catherine Vos’s The Children’s Story Bible
-
David Helm’s The Big Picture Story Bible
-
Starr Meade’s Training Hearts, Teaching Minds,
2) Pray
3) Sing : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZKGEasOtsthx5hs3aYIFW?si=ea3d365837fc4777
This series continues our Fear of Man series and, today, we are looking at our fear of being exposed
In this episode, we have uploaded a recording from our Launch Team Meeting which happened on October 17. If you'd like more information about Launch Team Membership, please email: aaron@trailschurch.ca
Families are vital in our ministry to the world.
Satan has always attacked the family—and at no time more than today. He wants to disintegrate and distort the family beyond recognition so that the Gospel is as inaccessible to people as possible.
We should view building strong vibrant families as a form of ministry, and opening our homes to non-Christian friends as an increasingly valuable evangelistic opportunity.
What does it mean to fear God?
To fear God means that we have a reverent submission to Him (we obey him and follow His commands) that leads to obedient trust AND worship.
We should fear God because he’s intrinsically worthy of our fear and obedience and worship.
Really all Scripture is proclaiming the worthiness of our God to be feared and worshiped.
And fearing God is also for our good. Thus, we should fear God because it’s for our good to do so.
-
Ps. 111:10/Prov. 1:7—Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge
-
Ps. 115:11—He is a help and shield to those who fear Him.
-
Ps. 115:13—He will bless those who fear Him.
-
Ps. 118:4— Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Amen, His love endures forever.
The fear of the Lord is intimately tied to our own happiness and holiness.
Let’s think about what Fear of God actually looks like in action as presented in Scripture.
How do we begin to walk in the fear of the Lord, how do we walk in the fear of God rather than the fear of man?
Well, only a greater fear will displace a lesser fears. Our main concern should not be “finding solutions” to our fear of man, but instead seeking after a deeper fear of the Lord. I think this orientation is so important. If you leave this podcast episode feeling less controlled by what other people think, but with no greater fear of God, then you’ve missed the point entirely!
So, you might be wondering, how do we do we put on fear of the Lord every day?
1) First, meditate on the gospel.
2) Study the character of God.
A few books, apart from Scripture, that provide great starting points to knowing and understanding God better are:
- Knowing God by J.I. Packer
- The Pleasures of God by John Piper
- Knowledge of the Holy by AW Tozer (FREE BOOK ONLINE HERE: https://www.restoringthecore.com/wp-content/restored/AW-Tozer-Knowledge-of-the-Holy.pdf
3) Repent of pride (Prov. 3:7).
To fear God is to reverently submit to Him in such a way that leads to obedience and worship. It is to happily and joyfully obey Him. To fear God is the beginning of wisdom. God alone can bear the weight of your deepest longings. He alone can receive the worship you were created to give.
Building families is a vital Christian ministry - it’s not secondary to God’s mission in the world.
Families are vital in three areas:
- in our local church,
- In our ministry to the world,
- In our ministry to the members within our families (our moms, dad, spouses, brothers, sisters, children, and nephews and nieces).
An Important Caveat
Jesus and Paul understood human families – while not eternal – as immensely significant for this age. Just because building families is not the only valid Christian ministry, then, does not mean that it is not valid Christian ministry. Indeed, as we will now see, it is vital Christian ministry.
Building families is vital to the church, because the church is fundamentally a spiritual family.
In all of this, notice the beautiful symbiotic relationship: the family blesses the church and the church blesses the family.
Who struggles with the fear of man?
-The apparently strong
-The weak
-The rich and influential
-The poor and inconsequential
-The timid
-The bold
-The believer
-The unbeliever
One of Satan’s first lines of attack is to convince us that we are the only ones struggling with a particular sin or that our struggle is particularly unique.
One of the surest ways to continue struggling with the fear of man is to continue believing you’re the only one going through this struggle or to see your struggle as unique and to refuse to share that struggle with another person.
Why do we fear man?
-
Well, Past experience tells us that man can cause us harm and pain and difficulties;
-
We are proud and self-centered.
-
We have a needs based view of other people.
-
We have a wrong view of what we truly need and what we deserve.
What does Scripture say about the fear of man?
-It originated at the Fall. Genesis 3:6-7
-It is shortsighted. Luke 12:4-5
-It is a destructive trap. Proverbs 29:25
-It is the opposite of love. I John 4:18,
-It minimizes the nature of our position in Christ. Romans 8:35, 38-39,
-It can only be overcome through the power of the Gospel (Romans 8:31-34/ I John 4:7-12).
Examples of men and women who feared man more than God:
-
Abraham
-
Isaac
-
Lot
-
Jacob
-
Moses
-
Aaron
-
Saul
-
The Pharisees
-
Peter (Luke 22:54-62) denies Christ; (Galatians 2:11-21) Paul confronts Peter
What evil fruit does the fear of man produce in our lives?
- Discontent
- Unhealthy dependency upon others
- Cynicism
- Bitterness
Fear of others begins to become sinful when it governs our lives, when we cross the line from enjoying the approval of others to believing that we need or deserve it. When we are so gripped by fear of being physically hurt that we are unwilling to live as the Lord has called us to live in this world, as strangers and pilgrims, recognizing that we will encounter physical pain. The Christian life is not one that needlessly pursues pain, suffering, rejection, exposure and abuse, but neither is it a religion that understands these things to be ultimate. If you are struggling to know whether you have a right or wrong fear of man, think back to the questions we asked at the beginning, I refer you back to Ed Welch’s book, "When People are Big and God is Small" - chapter 1.
Without being reductionistic, we fear man because we do not fear God or we do not fear God enough. Each time we give ourselves over to the fear of man we are choosing to love ourselves more and fear God less.
People we know, people we don’t know, we all want others to have a good opinion of us.
See, Fear of man is not limited merely to how we act or what we say, it is also related to what we choose not to say or do.
So, in the way we often respond to conflict, we demonstrate our tendency to fear man more than God.
- in marriages
- In local churches
Do you see any fear of man running through your experience?
Ed Welch, “When People are Big and God is Small”
During these podcast episodes, we will explore the various ways we most often tend to be controlled by fear of man, for only as we begin to categorize our struggles in this area, are we able to see the paths that biblical repentance must travel. And we will see, explicitly, that overcoming the fear of others is not something we can accomplish on our own. There is One who didn’t give into the fear of man and gave Himself up so that we could fear God rightly and thereby begin seeing enslavement to the fear of man eliminated.
So, in the upcoming episodes, we will talk about some of the fears that we have. For example:
1) We might fear that people will physically hurt us; this can relate to any number of things:
2) we might also fear that people will reject us; this is often connected to things about us in comparison to other people:
3) again, we might also fear that people will expose us; a fear of exposure may manifest itself in a variety of activities and attitudes:
*But, as we will see, the center of a heart that wrongly fears man is a heart that loves self more than God.
Parenthood is meant to portray a portrait of God, Himself.
Our love for, unity with, and likeness to our children bears witness to God’s very nature.
Implications for our families in understanding that God intends to project His image in part through parent-child relationships:
- It keeps us from viewing children as obstacles.
- It keeps us from viewing children as idols.
- It keeps us from viewing children as tools.
- It keeps us from overlooking children.
The family also provides a profoundly personal picture of our salvation.
J.I. Packer:
If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God. (Knowing God, p. 201)
Wayne Grudem similarly writes, “This relationship to God as our Father is the foundation of many other blessings of the Christian life, and it becomes the primary way in which we relate to God” (Systematic Theology, p. 739).
The family, presents a portrait of the Church
As a church, at how we are doing at loving one another as brothers and sisters. Are we treating one another like this? Do we celebrate victories, mourn losses, share meals, and serve one another like we do our own family members? And how would our church look if we did this? If we treated one another, and the kids in our church, as brothers and sisters and our older women and men as mothers and fathers?
Also, in strange times like these, we have grown closer together as a church?
What is the significance of the family?
Three common views from the World around us about parenthood:
1) idol
2) tool
3) obstacle
God’s view of parenthood.
Scripture teaches that a primary purpose of the family is nothing less than presenting the whole world with a series of three images—God’s triune nature (who He is), the gospel, and the church. See, In the family, God has embedded pictures of himself, and of his plan of salvation (the gospel), and of his redeemed people (the church”).
Bruce Ware writes,
It is as if God said, “I created the first and original pair of human beings in my very image, and I could continue creating them unilaterally so that you would have no part to play. But instead, you are now to bring about human beings; you are to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with my greatest of all creations, humans made in my very image” (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, p. 58).
how sin enters the scene in our view of parenthood and family.
Tim Keller: “we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Welcome to BaseCamp, a resource ministry created by the pastors of The Trails Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to assist us in discipling and equipping our church members to live out their faith in the cracks of everyday life. For the last couple of weeks, we have been asking what resources might be beneficial for our church and the two biggest ones that came up were Parenthood and the Fear of Man. So, what we decided to do, is to give a few episodes a week to parenthood and the Fear of Man. So, that way, if you aren’t a parent but are part of our church, then you can learn what it means to be a good parent and to come alongside of, and encourage, our parents in equipping and pastoring the kids of the Trails. And we need you to do so. My kids think that some of the single men and women of our church are the coolest people ever - and they need you to speak into their lives, to help them come to love and know and trust in Jesus. So, listening to these discussions on parenting are also helpful for our single friends and church members. And then, for all of us, the Fear of man is something that we constantly walk through; in parenthood, in our jobs, on social media, and, really, everywhere. We don’t want to be misunderstood, and we, sadly, often fear man more than God. So, my prayer is that both of these studies will be beneficial to us, as we continue to grow in our love and understanding of what it means to live out our faith in everyday contexts.
1. We have a Freedom to Trust
Worry at work.
Important truths from Scripture when we face worry:
1) God is in control. Of everything. Of allowing whether fear comes true.
2) Second, God’s promised to use everything for our good and his glory.
3) God loves you.
4) Jesus is your ultimate boss.
2. Second, we have a Freedom to rest
Rest is a good thing that God has built into our lives
Proverbs 23:4 tells us: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.”
3. and, thirdly, we have Freedom to serve
Be a servant at work.
4. Freedom to excel
Mediocrity?
The gospel frees us to pursue excellence.
Proverbs 22:29 tells us: “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.” (Prov. 22:29).
In Christ, you are free to pursue excellence.
Conclusion
Finally, to conclude, let’s talk about joy.
“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Ps. 84:10).
True joy in your work will flow from your joy in Jesus. Grow in knowledge of and love for the gospel, and you will grow in joy. And that joy will shine through whatever callings the Lord gives you.
Jesus’ Work Changes Everything.
We Work for a New Master
-
Where we once were slaves to sin, we are now slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18).
-
Colossians 3: “whatever you do…it is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
We Have a New Assignment, given to us by Jesus - to view work entirely different.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 that, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Job #1 - show off how amazing he is; ultimately you are in your job so that you can glorify God. This is your new assignment; this is all of our new assignment when we become Christians.
AW Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy
- Psalm 50:12, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”
God doesn’t need us
- God’s ultimate aim is not our productivity, but our worship
So we have a new boss, Jesus.
And a new assignment: to worship him in our work.
But also, We Have New Hearts.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26).
The New Rewards of Work.
What are you working for? Money, power, fame, and comfort? A school building named after you? A house at the beach? Helping lots of people? Using your talents? The rewards Jesus provides are far greater than anything the world offers. And they last forever!
Distortions and “Callings”
What are some examples of how being a Christian has changed what you do at your job? and, an even better question of exploring our hearts could be: Has being a Christian changed what we do at our jobs?
Distortions
-
Catholic Distortion
-
Protestant Distortion
Our Callings as Christians
Two callings:
- Primary Calling
We are called by Christ, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, “He called you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
We are called to Christ, Romans 1:6: “And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”
We are called for Christ, Ephesians 2: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
So what is God calling for you? Primarily, he’s calling you to himself.
- Secondary Callings
Ephesians 2:10 | do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The key truth we need to understand here is that all of our secondary callings exist to support our primary calling. “Whatever you do,” Paul says (Colossians 3:22-24), “work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men . . . . It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Twin perils of the workplace (part 2).
Since Genesis 3, the problem of work in a fallen world is that it’s so easy for us to fail to accomplish God’s plans for our work. As we talked about in the last episode, we can make an idol or our work: we can worship it. But the other option is that we can become idle at work: lazy or inactive in our work.
Colossians 3:22 – 24:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
1. Your work is merely a means to an end, a place to serve your own needs.
2. Your work totally frustrates you.
3. Your work becomes divorced from your Christian discipleship.
WHAT’S THE FIX FOR IDLENESS IN WORK?
Here’s the bottom line: our jobs matter to God. He created us to work, and even though frustration at work is an unescapable fruit of sin, God still uses our jobs to bring himself glory and to do good in and through our lives.
So what’s the solution to idleness? Repent. Turn from wrong ways of thinking, recognize idleness in work as sin, and recommit yourself to God’s purposes for your job.
Conclusion
Which of these mindsets do you lean towards more often? Work as an idol? Or an idle worker?
Twin perils of the Workplace (Part 1).
What are some of the problems of doing work in a fallen world?
- idol of our work: we can worship it.
- idle at work: lazy or inactive.
This episode focuses on the first of these: How work can become an IDOL.
An idol is something that you desire more than you desire Jesus.
DO YOU MAKE AN IDOL OF YOUR WORK? Do you desire what you gain from work (the money, status, identity, pleasure, or purpose) more than you desire Jesus?
Warning signs:
- Your work is the primary source of your satisfaction.
- Your work is about making a name for yourself.
- Your work becomes primarily about making a difference in the world.
Conclusion: So, as we are wrapping up this episode, I wanted to leave you with these questions:
- So, in thinking through these three ways that work can be an idol, do you see any leanings that you naturally have towards any of these?
- How have you been looking too much for happiness, joy, fulfillment, or purpose in your job?
- Have you found yourself wanting the good your job promises more than you’ve desired Jesus?
- Have you made your work an idol?
Welcome to Base Camp, a resource for the men and women of The Trails Church to help equip us to live out our faith, right here in Winnipeg, in everyday contexts. Base Camp is part of the training and equipping ministry of The Trails and includes in-person classes and training seminars, as well as this online presence so that the men and women of the Trails can study deeply practical and deeply theological material that we don’t have time to cover in other formats.
In this podcast, we will have bonus material on the various sermon series that we are walking through as a church, answer common questions, share stories and testimonies of God’s grace, have a few book reviews and other materials, in order to provide a way for our church to learn at our own pace in podcast form.
Our hope is that this space will be mutually beneficial; that we we will grow in our understanding of who God is and how we have been called to join Him in the mission that He has given us to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples as we teach all of the things that Jesus has commanded us.
For more information, please visit trailschurch.ca.