Thy Kingdom Come

Posted on May 20, 2021 by pottsvillearp

“Son, always know what your signing – a man’s word is his bond.” My father’s advice was sage. And I tried to live by that maxim. That is, until, I purchased my first house. The number of pages to sign appeared greater than the number of dollars borrowed. I was overwhelmed. My settled conviction to read everything before signing ran headlong into practical reality. Sensing my crisis, the loan officer quipped. “Let me to make it easy. If you pay you stay, if you don’t you won’t. It all boils down to that.” With that abridgement, I signed like an author at a book signing. And we were done by lunch.

This experience prepared me for the digital age. Every website, download, and upgrade come with a cornucopia of legalese. It’s all there in black and white — all terms of use, privacy agreements, and obligations. Of course, we are free not to sign, but then we are also not free to use. We all agree that we should read, but do not. Virtually every part of our digital life demands the sacrifice of my father’s maxim. We check the box and click “I agree” in a New York second. Then Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and the NSA have us dead-to-rights. But we did get free email and shipping.

Failing to pay attention to what we read has consequences. But so does failing to pay attention to what we say. We are quick repeat what we hear without careful reflection. With a single click we can ‘share’ our lack of reflection in a dozen ways. And what is a problem for conversation is deadly for prayer. How much do we reflect on what we pray? Jesus warned us about “vain repetition” in prayer.

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…’”
Matthew 6:7-10

Many Christians pray this regularly. Perhaps you pray it each week in worship. And though the Lord’s prayer is both a prayer to be prayed and a pattern for be followed, it can easily be vainly repeated. How serious are we about the Father’s kingdom coming? Not some time in the distant future in a galaxy far, far away but here and now. How eager are we for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? Sure, we want our daily bread and forgiveness for our debts, but how about the reign and rule of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in our day-to-day life and the world we inhabit. Has this cry become a vain repetition? A word we utter, but pay no attention?

In Revelation 11:15 the persistent prayer of the church is answered. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” In this answered prayer we are reminded that God delights to answer our prayer. Even the most remarkable request. The vision of the Seventh Trumpet declares that we are not forgotten by our God. Our prayers are not in vain. Therefore, we ought to pray boldly, earnestly, and expectantly. Not vainly or carelessly. Join us this week as we examine Revelation 11:15-19 and consider the prayer God delights to answer – that His kingdom come and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship. Get directions here or contact us for more info. Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. For the Order of Service, click here.

05/16/2021 | “PPE” | Revelation 11:1-14

Posted on May 18, 2021 by pottsvillearp

The gospel is sweet, but first it is sour. The truth sets men free. But first it makes them mad. It exposes their condition before applying the remedy. And to worldly men, this exposure is torment. They will hate the one who dares expose their condition. Sharing the gospel is a deadly dangerous business. But it is a deadly dangerous business that God calls us to take up. What PPE is there for us against the world’s hate for the truth of the gospel?

In Revelation 11, John sees a second vision. A vision of the two witnesses. Witnesses who symbolize boldness and power. Witnesses who faithfully finish their testimony. And witnesses who meet abuse and death for their message. But their suffering is short-lived. Death is not the last word. The God who protected them in life, gives them eternal life and calls them home. And a world so eager to be rid of them, realizes too late the terror of a world without the gospel. Join us this week as we examine Revelation 11:1-14 and consider God’s protection and care for faithful witnesses.

“PPE,” Revelation 11:1-14

PPE

Posted on May 12, 2021 by pottsvillearp

Every crisis has its jargon, and COVID has not disappointed. Social events are ‘superspreaders.’ Breathing, ‘aerosolization.’ Everyone who asks for your temperature and symptom history, suspect you are ‘asymptomatic,’ but positive. Our great longing is for ‘herd immunity.’ And in the place of batting averages and points per game, we pour over ‘rates of transmission.’ Everyone dies of COVID, but we all know they had ‘comorbidities.’ We are not really sure if we want to ask for an ‘antigen’ or an ‘antibody’ test. The calculus of ‘quarantine’ is more enigmatic than proving Fermat’s theorem. We ‘social distance’ in order to avoid the dread ‘second-wave’ lest we have to go into ‘isolation’ because we were ‘contact-traced.’ If only we had ‘PPE,’ maybe we would feel safer.

But how far can my ‘Personal Protective Equipment’ protect me and those I visit? Let’s face it. Isolation gowns hardly offer comprehensive coverage. Though admittedly, the dual effect of a total face shield and N95 mask does protect parishioners from every word I speak. No doubt, donning glove, gown, mask, and face shield will reduce ‘rates of transmission,’ but is it fool-proof? Absolutely not. When it comes to COVID there are no guarantees. As one hapless interviewee noted, “the virus is just gonna virus.”

We are vulnerable and we know it. Whether we deny the virus or hunker down, “the virus is just gonna virus.” As with every other uncertainty and danger in life, we are vulnerable. We do our best to protect and prepare, but in the end we do well to remember that “the mercy of the world is that you don’t know what’s going to happen.” Yet, it is often precisely that uncertainty that paralyzes us. And so, we circle the wagons, shut down, isolate and live in a cryogenic state. Wise King Solomon once noted, “he who builds a high gate invites destruction.” (Proverbs 17:19) Fear easily creates paralysis.

We see this in our spiritual lives as well. Christians have a Great Commission. We have one job, just one job — to make disciples of the nations. But fear of rejection, persecution, suffering, privation, and even inconvenience repeatedly derails us. Judgement from God is raining down on unbelievers all around us. Friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and those we see every day are facing the righteous, eternal wrath of a Holy God. We have walked in their shoes. We were once in the same danger, but God showed mercy to us. He sent someone to share the gospel with us — someone who loved us, more than their own safety or comfort. What about us? Do we love others more than our own safety and comfort?

Sharing the gospel is frightening. It is dangerous. It can even be deadly. It is sweet, but it is also bitter. We find this in Revelation 10. Judgements unfold against those without the seal of the living God. But judgement alone will never bring men to repentance. John sees a vision directed to the church. He is instructed to take a little scroll and to eat it. Though sweet in the mouth, it is bitter in his stomach. And in this vision, we have a picture both of the nature of the gospel and our duty to proclaim it.

Like a lamp on a stand, the church shines the grace of God into a world that knows only the darkness of the fall. The truth sets men free. But first it makes them mad. It exposes their condition before applying the remedy. And to worldly men, this exposure is torment. They will never be grateful for this exposure until grace opens their eyes. They will hate the one who dares expose them. Sharing the gospel is a deadly, dangerous business. But it is a deadly, dangerous business that God calls us to take up. What PPE is there for us against the world’s hatred for the truth of the gospel?

05/09/2021 | “Sweet and Sour” | Revelation 10:1-11

Posted on May 10, 2021 by pottsvillearp

Many of the joys of life depend upon a mixture of extremes — pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, discomfort and comfort. We even see this in the Bible and the gospel. Before we can accept God’s mercy, we must accept that we deserve only His condemnation. The gospel does not make good men better, it saves the unsavable. It is sweet, but first it is sour. The truth sets men free, but first it makes them mad. It wounds, then heals. It tears, then binds up. It is sweet in the mouth and bitter in the stomach.

How willing are you to say hard things to soften hard hearts? God’s Word can be bitter, but it is also sweet. Jesus has the keys to Death and Hades and gives these gospel keys us. But will we use them? Listen as we examine Revelation 10 and consider our calling to share the gospel boldly.

“Sweet and Sour,” Revelation 10:1-11

Sweet and Sour

Posted on May 5, 2021 by pottsvillearp

Money was scarce when I was ten. An ‘allowance’ was not a part of my parent’s parenting theory. They were firmly in the ‘pay-for-performance’ camp. And there was too little of either – pay or performance. The few chores my father considered pay-worthy were indexed to his Depression era pay scales.

If I was going to make any serious coin, I would have to look elsewhere. But without a mower, my options were limited. While there were always the odd neighbor jobs – moving gravel piles, feeding dogs, and clearing kudzu. These were hit-or-miss. Collecting glass Coke bottles from the roadside for a nickel each was my only reliable source of income. In those days we were less conscious of the moral duty not to throw trash on the roadsides, so this was surprisingly profitable.

I was careful with what I earned. A tenth to church, half to savings, and the rest to 7Eleven. On summer days, neighborhood kids, young and old, would mount their spider-bikes and trek to the 7Eleven up on the highway. I’m sure our parents assumed there was safety in numbers. But looking back, I’m not so sure. But as old-timers are apt to say, “times were different then.”

Topps baseball cards, packs of candy Marlboro cigarettes, and Now-or-Laters were always in the bag. And righteousness could not be fulfilled without a Cherry Coke Slurpee and its accompanying spoon-straw. But my go-to item was the giant SweetTart. Unlike chewy ones sold today, vintage giant SweetTarts were hard and looked like enormous dishwasher tablets. Only as the tart gave way to the sweet could you even open your eyes. Eating too many would make your tongue raw for days. They were intense – the mother of all complex candy flavors.

But it was that complexity, sweet and sour, that made them so good. Many of the joys of life depend upon a mixture of extremes. Our loves often offer both pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, discomfort and comfort. We even see this in the Bible and the gospel. Before we can accept God’s mercy, we must accept that we deserve only His condemnation. The gospel does not make good men better, it saves the unsavable. The words of the Old Testament prophet, Hosea, are poignant.

Come, let us return to the Lord;
    for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
    he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will raise us up,
    that we may live before him.
Hosea 6:1-2

The Bible is both sweet and sour. Paul described it as “the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) The Bible speaks sweetly of mercy, but everywhere reminds us that this mercy comes through the bitterness of judgment poured out on Christ. Those who reject this find that the gospel’s sweet promises bear bitter fruit in unbelief.

John’s vision in Revelation 10 underscores this. Judgements unfold against those without the seal of the living God. The church is excluded, yet still present in the world. What is her role? In the interlude between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpets, John sees a vision directed to the church. He is instructed to take a little scroll and to eat it. Though sweet in the mouth, it is bitter in his stomach. And in this vision, we have a picture both of the nature of the gospel and of our duty to proclaim it.

Acts of God’s judgement are raining down on the unbelieving world. But judgement alone will never bring men to repentance. Without the kindness of God in the gospel, they will only be hardened. Like a lamp on a stand, the church shines the kindness of God into a world that knows only the bitterness of the fall. The gospel is sweet, but first it is sour. The truth sets men free, but first it makes them mad. It exposes their condition before applying the remedy. It wounds, then heals. It tears, then binds up. It is sweet in the mouth and bitter in the stomach.

How willing are we to proclaim this sweet-and-sour gospel? Every person deserves God’s wrath and curse. This horror should ignite a sense of urgency. Those you love, those you serve, those who serve you, who are not sealed through faith in Christ, will fall under horrific judgements. They will seek for death and not find it. And when it comes, it will not relieve. Their only hope is the sweet-and-sour gospel. How willing are you to say hard things to soften hard hearts? Leon Morris puts this into perspective.

“The true preacher of God’s Word will faithfully proclaim the denunciations of the wicked it contains. But he does not do this with fierce glee. Telling forth of ‘woes’ will be a bitter experience…. The wickedness of man grieved God at His heart (Genesis 6:6), and the true preacher of God’s Word enters to some degree into this suffering.”
Leon Morris, Revelation.

God’s Word can be bitter, but it is also sweet. Jesus has the keys to Death and Hades and gives these gospel keys us. But will we use them? Join us this week as we examine Revelation 10 and consider our calling to share the gospel boldly.

05/02/2021 | “Sense of Urgency” | Revelation 9:1-21

Posted on May 3, 2021 by pottsvillearp

It is easy to read Revelation with satisfaction as the enemies of Christ receive justice from God’s hand. But does the justice of God awaken our sorrow for the lost? All mankind deserves God’s justice and will, indeed, receive it unless they find grace in Christ. Does the horror of this thought ignite a sense of urgency? Those you love, those you serve, those who serve you, who are not sealed through faith in Christ, will fall under these horrific judgements. They will seek for death and not find it. And when it comes, it will not be relief or release, but intensification of pain. But the Lord Jesus has the keys to Death and Hades. And he gives these gospel keys to his church.

Do you have a sense of urgency regarding the lost? Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. As his people, is that not our purpose as well? God has given us this word for comfort, but also to make us uncomfortable with the condition of the lost. Join us this week as we examine Revelation 9 and reflect on our own sense of urgency.

“Sense of Urgency,” Revelation 9:1-21

Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart

Posted on May 1, 2021 by pottsvillearp

This Lord’s Day we will be singing this new hymn from Red Mountain Music as we gather for worship. This old text from John Newton has been set to a new tune. Take time to listen to Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart as we prepare to sing it together on the Lord’s Day.

Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart
^{Words: John Newton, Music: Wendell Kimbrough, © 2005 Red Mountain Music, CCL# 11359088}

Pensive, doubting, fearful heart, hear what Christ the Savior says;
Every word should joy impart, change thy mourning into praise.
Yes, He speaks and speaks to thee, may He help thee to believe;
Then thou presently will see, thou has little cause to grieve.

Fear thou not, nor be ashamed; all thy sorrows soon shall end,
I, who heaven and earth have framed, am thy Husband and thy Friend;
I the High and Holy One, Israel’s God, by all adored,
As thy Savior will be known, thy Redeemer and thy Lord.

For a moment I withdrew, and thy heart was filled with pain;
But my mercies I’ll renew; thou shall soon rejoice again;
Though I seem to hide my face, very soon my wrath shall cease;
‘Tis but for a moment’s space, ending in eternal peace.

Though afflicted, tempest tossed, comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou can be lost, thou art graven on my heart;
All thy wastes I will repair; thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear what the God of love can do.

Sense of Urgency

Posted on April 29, 2021 by pottsvillearp

When everything is urgent, nothing is urgent. When every priority is the top priority, there are, in reality, no top priorities. Management theory is awash in theories about how to “create a sense of urgency.” Mantras such as “establish and outcome-focused culture” and “secure stakeholder input and buy-in to the strategy” add zest and sparkle to a middle-management PowerPoint, but are simply manipulation in the eyes of the managed.

When a group has a diversity of core values, it will struggle with a shared sense of urgency. It may pull together as ‘co-belligerents’ from time to time, but this is only an illusory alliance. Despite appearances, everyone has their own agenda. And nothing reveals this like a disaster. Adversity tests conviction to shared core values. Without shared core values, each person’s sense of urgency is reduced to ‘every man for himself.’ Everyone has a different top priority – himself.

This is often vividly portrayed in disaster films. Doomed airplanes and ships, calamitous meteor strikes, and pandemics show men at their worst, fighting to survive at the expense of others. We like to think we would act differently, but would we? And what if the disaster was even more dramatic – the end of the world as we know it — cataclysmic divine judgement that afflicts mankind, body, soul, and spirit.

The Book of Revelation is often avoided, because its scenes of unrelenting, divine judgment poured out on the world are terrifying. Its imagery is intense and unnerving. While it declares victory for the Lamb and vindication of believers, the trajectory is described as a Great Tribulation. It affirms what we read in Acts 14:22 that we enter the kingdom of God “through many tribulations.” As we read through the Apocalypse is our thought for ourselves, alone? Is our sense of urgency for our survival? Does this prophecy awaken in us a sense of fear and suspicion toward the unbelieving world?

As Jesus opens the Seven Seals, we see the unfolding effects a fallen world where men, given over to their sin, suffer war, bloodshed, famine, injustice, and persecution. Everyone is affected. Believers and unbelievers alike. The only difference is that believers endure, because they have hope. They pass through the valley of the shadow by drawing close to the shepherd, not by fleeing from him. For Christians, the scroll of God’s Unfolding Purpose tells a difficult, but gracious story. And while this story brings comfort in adversity, it should evoke something else as well.

When the Seventh Seal is opened in Revelation 8, there is silence in heaven. The constant praise which fills every vision of heaven thus far, now falls silent as the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18) Nothing interrupts a party like a tragedy. Judgement against the unbelieving world begins to unfold.

The seals and trumpets are not sequential, but share the same frame of history. Yet they do so from a different perspective. There are similarities in the cycles. The first four in each series are directed against earth, sea, and heavens, while the fifth and sixth are in the spiritual realm. But there are important differences as well. The seals speak of the natural consequences of sin, while the trumpets are very clearly, acts of God. Also, the seals effect all mankind, believer and unbeliever alike, while the trumpets, particularly the final ‘woes,’ are directed only toward those who do not have the seal of the Living God.

The physical suffering of unbelievers is great, but the woes of the fifth and sixth trumpet in Revelation 9 speak of unrelenting spiritual horror. Those not sealed by the Living God through grace, are subject to pain that even death cannot take away. And while there is a note of vindication at the righteous justice of God, this passage is given to the church – a church described as a lampstand to the world – to grasp a sense of urgency. Urgency to speak the gospel to every creature under heaven. Without the gospel the horrors of these woes await our neighbors, families, coworkers, and those we meet every day.

It is easy to read this passage with satisfaction as the enemies of Christ receive justice from God’s hand. But does the justice of God awaken our sorrow for the lost? All mankind deserves God’s justice and will, indeed, receive it unless they find grace in Christ. Does the horror of this thought ignite a sense of urgency? Those you love, those you serve, those who serve you, who are not sealed through faith in Christ, will fall under these horrific judgements. They will seek for death and not find it. And when it comes, it will not be relief or release, but intensification of pain. But the Lord Jesus has the keys to Death and Hades. And he gives these gospel keys to his church.

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 16:19

Do you have a sense of urgency regarding the lost? Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. As his people, is that not our purpose as well? When you read of these judgements are you relieved for your own deliverance or sorry for those who will find no relief? Should it not be both? God has given us this word for comfort, but also to make us uncomfortable with the condition of the lost. Join us this week as we examine Revelation 9 and reflect on our own sense of urgency.

04/25/2021 | “Acts of God” | Revelation 8

Posted on April 26, 2021 by pottsvillearp

There are things in our lives that just happen, and then there are acts of God. Those are the things that confront us with the deep existential questions and keep us up at night. Does God exist? What kind of God is he? What does he demand or expect of me? Is he pleased or displeased with me? Can I know the answers to any of these questions? If so, how?

In Revelation 8, Jesus opens the final seal and reveals the contents of the scroll. The judgements found there move from common experiences of men to remarkable acts of God. They provoke deeper questions than, “how do I survive.” Yet even in the dramatic judgements of Revelation 8, we see the grace of God shining through the terror of the first four trumpets. Join us this week as we examine Revelation 8 and consider God’s gracious warning to us through his undeniable acts of judgement.

“Acts of God,” Revelation 8:1-13

Examine Yourself, and Come!

Posted on April 24, 2021 by pottsvillearp

Q. 171. How are those who receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to prepare themselves before they come to it?
A. Those who receive the sacrament of the Lord’s supper are to prepare themselves for it before they come by examining themselves in the following ways: of their being in Christ; of their sins and needs; of the truth and measure of their knowledge, faith, repentance, and love to God and the brethren; of their charity to all people, forgiving those who have done them wrong; of their desires for Christ and of new obedience; and by renewing the exercise of these graces by serious meditation and fervent prayer.
Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 171

Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church

Christ Centered, Confessionally Reformed, Community Focused

Category Archives: Uncategorized