Covenantal Love 01/26/2012
Marriage, being a binding legal covenant, offers distinct advantages over "living together." One which comes to mind is that marriage makes it more advantageous for each party to invest time and effort in seeking solutions to their difficulties. For a couple which lives together, a problem may be too distasteful to tackle, or a temptation too attractive to evade. A married couple, on the other hand, has strong legal and material incentive to address the same problem or temptation successfully. Breaking up is much easier than divorce. The problems which bitterly divide those who live together, encourage those with a legal commitment to seek solutions. The intentions, love and commitment of both couples are similar. But the intentions, love and commitment of one couple are reinforced...by a binding covenant. 2 Comments Christmas and the Incarnation 12/01/2011
Christianity is built on the solid foundation of one truth. It is that for a few decades in history, the loving Creator, infinite and omnipresent, confined himself to a mortal, limited, human body. God chose to become one of his creatures, something infinitely less than He was in eternity as purely God. He did this in the person of Jesus Christ. History calls this the Incarnation, and it is the event that defines Christmas. The Bible explains that God became Incarnate in order to serve the desperate need of humans to receive eternal forgiveness. For this to occur, someone would have to atone for human sins. Ultimately, that is what Jesus accomplished, when he was crucified on a cross so that God could forgive us. All I must do to be forgiven is trust that God atoned for my sins and forgives me. History calls what Jesus accomplished the Atonement, and it is the event that defines Easter. 9/11 – Why does God allow tragedy? 08/25/2011
The first book in the Bible, Genesis, explains that we live in a fallen world. As a direct result of the fall of mankind, death and suffering entered the world. Jesus was once asked about tragic situations similar to 9/11: "Why were eighteen people killed when a temple collapsed?" Jesus replied, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” It sounds a little harsh. But what Jesus was saying is this: Because of moral wickedness in general, God allows dreadful things to occur in a fallen world. Tragedies will continue to take place until the day when believers enter God’s perfect heaven. For the repentent, all death and suffering will then cease. LGBT and FABP 08/16/2011
"Are you gay friendly?" I've been asked, in reference to the beliefs of Westminster. Of course we are gay friendly. God loves those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), just as much as he loves the rest of the world. I should, too. God offers salvation and forgiveness of sin to all, no matter what kind of sin is there. I should make the same offer. God the Son, Jesus Christ, was a friend of sinners. I should be, too...particularly since I am such a sinner myself! However, God sets another standard. The Word of God makes it clear that any alternative sexual lifestyle, to marriage between a man and a woman, is sin, a result of the Fall. Both genetic tendencies to violence and genetic sexual deviation are results of the Fall. Genetics does not excuse activity. Both violence and deviant activity either transgress, or do not conform to, the Law of God. It's not how God created things, or intends them to be. We all enjoy private little weaknesses and practices that we would prefer weren't sin, but are. We can't get a pass to practice them just because we enjoy them so much. And we can't get a license from God to practice LGBT sin, any more than we can to practice FABP (fornicating, adulterous, beastial, pornographic) sin. Are we gay friendly? Yes. Are LGBT and FABP sins…still sin? Yes. | GlueWhat holds together such a diverse and faulty gaggle of the redeemed at Westminster? It’s not Westminster's medieval architecture or politics. It’s not what we drink. That runs from smoothies and Starbucks to Northwest wines, micro-brews and Cascade mountain water. It's not what we sing, or a preference for a particular musical genre. The glue that binds the people of Westminster together is a common trust in the same God, as understood through the unchangeable truth of a 4,000 year old book, the Bible. Pastor Zoeller Clapton RedemptionI waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40.1-3
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