Profiling

Posted on December 31, 2021 by pottsvillearp

As a recovering software engineer, the anthropology of software fascinates me far more than the technology. Ideally, software is designed to automate and simplify human labor. Or as Tony Reinke wrote, technology pushes back some effects of The Fall. But more often than not technology, once deployed, outgrows its design. Growing beyond automating human work, it defines it. Human work and behavior mimic the software designed to mimic its master. It is an inevitable turn of events, a constant ebb and flow between who runs the show – man or machine.

This is true not only of our work, but also our relationships. Our tech now mediates the mechanics of relationships. We no longer visit neighbors, we follow them. We don’t talk to friends, we message them. If this was a simple equivocation, then ‘OK.’ But social media is more than a new medium for communication. It has become a virtual kabuki where actors market an assumed identity, not one that actually exists. Is it any wonder that in such a world, even biological certainty falls victim to how I identify.

The phrase ‘going viral’ used to carry only bad connotations. But social media has made ‘going viral’ the goal of influencers, extroverts, and narcissists of all stripes. It means you are getting noticed. And all of us want to get noticed. Our online identity is digitally rendered. So, setting up a social media profile is no simple matter, less about who I am and more about who I want people to believe I am.

While Brad Paisley’s song, Online is a little off-color, his social commentary rings true when he sings ”I’m so much cooler online.” Do people who view your profile wonder who you really are and what you are really like? Now take that one step further. Do those who view your spiritual profile, your profession of faith and your ‘life and conversation,’ wonder who you really are? Are you WYSIWIG or is your profile as a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ a tidy bit of historical fiction?

At the beginning of the gospel many came to John the Baptist wanting to view John’s profile. In John 1, the religious establishment in Jerusalem sent inquisitors to unearth John’s real identity. But John’s concern was not who he was, but what he was – a witness. What mattered most what not what John’s life said about John, but what it said about Jesus.

John comes out of nowhere. Like Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western, he is an apocalyptic figure. Dressed in the prophetic garb of Elijah, he was fanatically different from the long line of false Messiah’s who filled the 400-year silence since the prophet Malachi. His preaching was changing lives. Those who cared nothing for ritual purity sought real purity – not the cleansing of the Pharisee’s ritual baptism but a spiritual baptism that washed away much more than dirt.

His whole ministry and identity was as a witness to the ‘Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.” And in that he is an exemplar for us. John is the last of the Old Testament prophets and the first of Jesus’ evangelists. He is a radical, a revolutionary. Surely this extremist is not the paradigm for the “profile of a disciple?” Is this what we are to emulate? Jesus later commented on this question when he was asked about greatness. He said of John.

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Matthew 11:11

John 1:19-34 reveals John’s profile and as it does, reveals to us what it means to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. John is an exemplar and not an extremist. What does our profile look like as a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ? Join us this Lord’s Day as we examine John 1:19-34 and consider our profile as witnesses.

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.

12/24/2021 | “Lessons and Carols”

Posted on December 29, 2021 by pottsvillearp

The story of Christ’s coming is the most dramatic story ever told. While it reaches a beautiful high point with Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, there is much more to this story – a story with origins in eternity past and implications in eternity future, a story of epic failure and dramatic rescue, a story that reveals a God quite different from the one our fears imagine. Come and experience the rest of this story in God’s own words and in song as we share in An Evening of Lessons and Carols.

The Wrong Question

Posted on December 24, 2021 by pottsvillearp

I was THAT kid in school. The one who asked, “is there a maximum number of pages for this paper?” The one who pleaded for more, not fewer, graded assignments. And the one who begged the teacher for essay questions rather than multiple choice. My concern was not a zeal for learning, but an obsession with my grades – and more specifically my grade point average. At any given moment, I could assess the effect of any graded assignment to my overall GPA.

I did not trust multiple choice questions. I second guessed and micro analyzed every question. Not my answers, I felt confident of those. What I feared was subtly in the questions themselves. Surely a trap or a trick had been embedded into what appeared a simple query? For indeed, this is what makes good multiple choice and true/false questions tick. What if my teacher was not clever enough to get this right? An essay allowed me to correct poorly crafted questions and clarify exactly what question I had answered.

Tucked away in my anxiety closet was a large store of Atychiphobia – a fear of failure that takes on an extreme form. What if I gave the right answer to the wrong question? I would fail. My GPA would drop. My future would hang in the balance. All hopes of future happiness and success would vanish. Or so I thought. Failing to spot a flawed question seemed to me catastrophic. And answering the wrong question, even with the right answer, an irrecoverable misstep.

Of course, no such plot existed. The multiple choice and true/false questions had not been laced with poison logic or satanic subtlety. All was as it appeared. But the consequences of answering the wrong question manufactured for me considerable adolescent angst. Most of us don’t rise to this level of concern about right and wrong questions. We are simply concerned with right and wrong answers. But what if I had been right to be afraid? What if an irrecoverable misstep or eternal catastrophe did result from answering the wrong question, but never answering the right one?

The story of the wise men in Matthew 2 poses this conundrum vividly.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Matthew 2:1-6

On the surface, the wise men and Herod seem to be asking the same question. But closer examination reveals a great, but subtle, difference. The wise men ask, “where is he, that we may worship him?” Herod asks, “where is he, that I may manage him and preserve my own autonomy?” All men ask these same two questions. Believers seek him to worship him. Skeptics seek him to manage, discredit, and remove him from his place in their lives.

What about you? What is your question when it comes to Jesus? Is it to find him and worship him? Or to manage, discredit, and remove him from your life? Or do you have no concern for him at all? Questions about Jesus are inextricably tied to our own existential questions, whether we admit it or not. When it comes to this test, to answer the wrong question is fatal. The gospel enables us actually know Jesus, not merely know about him. Are you asking the right questions? Join us as we examine Matthew 2 and Micah 5:1-6 this week and consider the difference between asking right and wrong questions.

Lessons and Carols, 2021

Posted on December 21, 2021 by pottsvillearp

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn. Get directions here or contact us for more info. Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube.

Graceful Receiving

Posted on December 15, 2021 by pottsvillearp

A long time ago, the Christian author, Gary Chapman, penned an important book, entitled “The Five Love Languages.” He noted that every person communicates and perceives love in one or more ‘languages.’ These languages include physical touch and closeness, acts of service, gift giving, encouraging words, and quality time. Think about that for a moment. How do you communicate and perceive love? What love language is your native tongue? Perhaps you are multi-lingual when it comes to these love languages. My mother-in-law was like this. She spoke every one of these languages fluently, but her lingua franca was without a doubt, gift giving.

Her love of gift giving was prodigious. It would be an understatement to say that she sometimes went over the top. Especially when grandchildren were involved. She was always thinking of just the apt gift. Throughout the year, whenever someone expressed a need or desire, she would purchase and wrap their heart’s desire and tuck it away in somewhere in her house. There are probably still hidden gifts wrapped and tucked away at MaMa’s. While Santa has to be told what children want, MaMa always knew. Her radar always detected exactly what would satisfy the longing hearts of her beloved.

But gift giving for her was not merely apt selection and presentation. She created a whole dramatic narrative surrounding the giving of gifts. Her true aim was to create joy. She delighted to delight. She needed to be present when the gifts were opened so that she might rejoice with the joy of the receiver. She needed to hear the squeals, see the surprise, and sense the gratitude. That was, for her, the gift received in the giving of gifts. Her greatest desire was to bring joy to others. Gifts graciously received were her greatest gift.

Christmas after Christmas, I saw, shining through the life of my mother-in-law, the heart of a Heavenly Father, who gives the gift of His Son that we might find true and abiding joy. Like my mother-in-law, our Heavenly Father delights to hear and see and receive our gratitude in response to His grace. In Luke 15, in the midst of three parables about being lost and found, Jesus twice notes that, “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Many stories in the Bible illustrate this, but no story pictures this as powerfully as that of the announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds in Luke 2:8-20. Here as the Lord of glory is born into quiet obscurity the only announcement is given to shepherds, the most despised and outcast class of society. These enigmatic shepherds were the most unlikely of converts — men who were notoriously under suspicion, who were rejected from temple worship due to their habitual and ritual uncleanness, and whose word was not acceptable in the courts. If anyone had hope to receive God’s goodwill and favor because of their works it was not these men. Yet these were the men to whom God announced, “for unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Unto “you!” No one gave these men anything, but unto them God had given a savior!

Their response is a powerful testimony to the joy that comes when the hopeless find hope. They urgently flee Christ. Finding him, they tell everyone they meet then return to their sheep glorifying and praising God. These unlikely converts exhibit the joy of a changed life. Their priorities, their conversation, and their way of life are radically transformed. Their circumstances did not change, but they were changed in the middle of their circumstances. Men who were outcasts with God and man, were now Sons of the Most High and the first human evangelists. Their joy was uncontained and unrestrained.

Do you have that kind of joy? If not, perhaps it is because you have not experienced the grace of receiving. God has offered you a great gift. He delights for you to receive it and find joy. Join us this Lord’s Day, as we examine the story of the shepherds in Luke 2 and consider how finding Jesus changes our lives.

Who Are You?

Posted on December 8, 2021 by pottsvillearp

We live in a world awash with outrageous claims and inflammatory statements. Faced with the daunting challenge of distilling fact from fiction, we may be tempted to believe everything or nothing. But among all the outrageous claims, what if there is life giving truth? What if there is truth we cannot live without?

No man made more outrageous claims that Jesus Christ. He shocked the men of his hometown, by claiming to be the Messiah. He challenged the religious leaders to point out a single one of his sins. He pushed the limits with his disciples, commanding them to love enemies and offer unlimited forgiveness to offensive brothers.

Jesus’ own disciples struggled to understand who he was and what he came to do. From time to time, glimpses shone through their own preconceived notions of Him. In a poignant moment, as they were crossing the Sea of Galilee, a furious squall sprang up and threatened to sink their small fishing boat. Half of Jesus’ disciples grew up on these tempestuous waters, fishing with their families from their childhood, yet even they were convinced that they would not survive the trip. They woke Jesus, who was asleep in the back of the boat.

They did not ask him to save them – for what miracle working teacher was a match for a force-ten gale? They only asked, “don’t you care that we are about to die?” Jesus stood up in the boat and with a word, brought the waters from tempest to mirror. These seasoned seamen were almost speechless. The only thing they could say of Jesus was, “who is this?” They perceived that there was much more to Jesus than even their imaginations could anticipate.

What about you? When someone mentions Jesus, what comes to mind? Religious revolutionary? Social justice warrior? Ethical teacher? Failed Zionist leader? Founder of a yet another world religion? Who is this Jesus? For many it is a caricature, influenced by pictures you have seen or by clichés which permeate our cultural ideas of “the historical Jesus.” Or perhaps you remember him from a collection of anecdotes or parables you heard as a child in some Sunday School. Just who is Jesus?

No claim of Jesus was more outrageous than his claim that “I and the Father are one. He who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus did not claim merely to be God’s servant, or God’s prophet. He did not claim to be “a son of God,” but “The Son of God.” Despite the best efforts of Arian heretics to erase Jesus’ claims to divinity, the Scriptures claim pervasively and decisively that Jesus is fully God and fully man. Men who seek some value in Jesus as a mere man and moral example, but disbelieve his outrageous claim to deity, must face C. S. Lewis’ scathing critique.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else He would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Jesus did not come to point out the way, the truth, or the life, but to be the way, the truth and the life. This demands that he be fully human and fully divine.

Who is Jesus? Our seasonal displays of a baby Jesus in a lowly cattle stall have led us astray, thinking only of his humanity. But in one of the great Old Testament prophecies of Christ’s coming, he is called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.” You think you know who Jesus is? Come and find out as we examine Isaiah 9:1-7 and grapple with what our forefathers expressed in the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Q21: Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?
A21: The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.
Westminster Shorter Catechism

Great Expectations

Posted on November 26, 2021 by pottsvillearp

Light displays and Christmas trees in Hobby Lobby no longer indicate Christmas is at hand. The only reliable sign that Christmas is near is a spike in the catalog-to-bill ratio of my mail. By mid-November catalogs from knife-makers, clothiers, garden suppliers, toy companies, charities providing livestock in the third world, leather-crafters, Amish tradesmen, and purveyors of fine novelties are all vying for a place on my wish list.

As a boy, only one catalog ever came in the mail. And it was the only one that mattered. Larger than a phone book, the Sears and Roebuck Catalog opened up whole new worlds of Christmas possibility and gave substance to my letters to Santa. My parents were well aware of the power of the Sears and Roebuck Catalog and were careful to restrict our access to it.

While aware of its dangers, my parents also understood the catalog’s power to guide expectations. They recognized that, as children, our joy came more from exceeded expectations than receiving a useful gift. Before the catalog arrived, they would talk up the ideas of what they planned to give. Then when it arrived, they used the catalog to reinforce their ideas either by confirmation or contrast.

To our delight, Christmas always brought exactly what we hoped for. No matter what was in our stocking or under the tree it was exactly what we wanted. Our parents knew what was best for us, but wanted us to rejoice in receiving it. Our heavenly Father is like this. He wants us to rejoice in receiving His gifts. The history of redemption is the epic story of God giving His greatest gift to beloved children, but not before teaching us to expect and long for what He desires to give. From Genesis to Revelation, He trains our expectations and creates desire for the Savior He offers.

In the Old Testament, God does this through various covenants. His covenants with Adam, Noah, Moses, and David, differ in emphasis and immediate application, but all point to the same thing – salvation and eternal life through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Each of these Old Testament covenants is simply a renewal and expression of the one Covenant of Grace. In each of these covenants, God meets some pressing need and blesses his people. But more importantly He offers a reminder not to hope in Adam, or Noah, or Moses or David, but in the Coming One, the Messiah.

In the same way, the New Testament examines the person and work of Christ by looking back at how he fulfilled the Old Testament covenants. We see that Jesus is exactly the Savior God promised. And in understanding that ‘the Coming One’ is the One who came, we learn to desire his coming again. Men are always tempted to look for a savior who conforms to their own desires and expectations. And so, through Old Testament covenants and New Testament fulfillments, God teaches us who to expect and what to desire so we will rejoice in receiving Him.

What type of Savior are you looking for? Someone to save you from your circumstances? Or your feelings? Or you past? Or you fear of the future? Or one who is much more – an everlasting and eternal Prophet, Priest, and King. The author of Hebrews makes a remarkable statement in Hebrews 7:24-25.

[H]e holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:24-25

Jesus lives forever. Only he is able to save us ‘to the uttermost.’ Beyond what you imagine you want or know that you need. God reveals the Savior He freely offers us through Old Testament promises and New Testament fulfillments. Join us this Lord’s Day as we examine 2 Samuel 7:1-14 and consider Jesus as our Everlasting King.

Always Reforming

Posted on October 28, 2021 by pottsvillearp

My wife loves making lists, because she loves checking things off her list. Striking through task after task brings a real sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Nothing beats the feeling of checking off that last item and heading for a well-earned rest. But there is always that one item – that stubborn one that is always there, yet never removed, never finished.
Some jobs simply never end. Some, such as road construction or cancer therapy, never end because the work progresses more slowly than the growing need. The pace of the work cannot keep up with the demand for it to be complete. But there are other jobs that never end because it is their nature to be undone, incomplete. Laundry work is the paradigm for this type of work.

Laundry is never done. You may wash the last load and fold the last dishrag and smugly congratulate yourself in your victory over dirty clothes, then in a flash your family appears bearing those loads they have been holding back for “such a time as this.” And, thus it starts all over again. Laundry is never done. By definition, as long as we live in this fallen world where we are no longer naked and not ashamed, laundry is ever-awaiting. In our household, “laundry work” is a ready metaphor for any job or experience in life that is always being done but never getting done.

The Reformers of the Sixteenth Century, famously included the reformation of the church in the category of ‘laundry work.’ The Reformation was not an event, but an iteration. It is in the very nature of the church to perpetually undergo reformation. Prior to the return of Christ and the final judgement, there is no golden age to which we can point and say, if only we could live in those times the church would be pure. From the beginning of God’s Covenant people, the church has been in need of reformation. Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda, ‘the Church reformed, [and] always reforming’ was the Reformer’s motto.

Always Reforming! The church is always in need of correction, sanctification, renewal, discipleship, gospel preaching, the faithful and diligent use of the ordinary means of grace. The marks of the church imply as much — faithful preaching of the Word, faithful administration of the Sacraments, and church discipline. The Reformation of the Church is not an event, it is ‘laundry work.’ That is, until the day when the church descends from heaven – holy, radiant, finally and fully prepared to be the bride and wife of the lamb. For now, the church must be ‘always reforming.’ But a day is coming when faith becomes sight and every promise, every ‘yes and amen’ in Christ, is fulfilled. Then the church will at last be all she has been created to be. All brokenness and blemish will be gone.

Her beauty, her perfect fellowship with her Beloved, and her indescribable life, so beautifully captured in Revelation 21:9-22:5, are the hope to which we press “with every grace endued.” Knowing that a day is coming when the laundry work of reformation will end, we press on with the work of always reforming. Scripture commands us, “let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Have you grown weary of a church that is always reforming? Or of the arduous work this reformation demands? Has the friction of always reforming caused you to grow weary of doing good? Have you chosen, either practically or actually, to excommunicate yourself, unwilling to press on toward the hope of a radiant, pure, and holy church? Have you become such a severe critic of the Lamb’s bride? A commenter rather than a communicant? Have you have lost sight that, even in her time of sanctification, she is glorious, radiant, and live-giving?

Throughout time the church has been an Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda. But a day is coming when the church reformed and always reforming will “com[e] down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel… And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Until that day, may this vision of the end, teach us to love the church and live within it. Hymnwriter, Samuel Stone expressed this tension well in the final verses of his beloved hymn, The Church’s One Foundation.

‘Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation of peace forevermore;
till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we,
like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.
The Church’s One Foundation, Samuel J. Stone.

Join us this Reformation Lord’s Day, as we examine Revelation 21:9-22:5 and consider a day when the church will no longer be always reforming.

In Conclusion

Posted on October 21, 2021 by pottsvillearp

The conclusion of a book is as important as its introduction. We can all think of those introductions which have grabbed our attention. One thinks of lines such as “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” and “Call me Ishmael.” But the conclusions also get our attention because they remind us of what an author really considers to be important.

This is certainly the case in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. He begins his letter calling to mind that the church of Thessalonica is God’s church. In the conclusion, he offers exhortations on how that church is to live in light of the fact that it belongs to God. We see in these exhortations principles for honoring church leaders, principles for peace among fellow Christians, and the importance of rejoicing and praying.

But all of these commands are rooted in Paul’s benediction in verse 23. Paul writes in that verse, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

How can a Christian really live as one of God’s chosen people? How can a Christian have confidence that they will grow in grace? How can a Christian have the hope that they may endure to the end? It is because God is at work in the life of the believer and because He will keep them blameless. Paul has a settled confidence that “he will surely do it.” God has redeemed His own people from destruction, and He has promised to keep them to the end.

Do you have the kind of settled confidence that Paul displays in this passage? Are you hopeful in the power of God to keep you and in the second coming of Jesus Christ?
Paul closes the chapter in verse 28, saying, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” God has been gracious in Jesus Christ and will continue to be gracious to His people. In light of that grace, in light of the faithfulness of God, you may pursue holiness and seek to live as Paul commands in this conclusion. Join us this Sunday as we examine 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 and consider the confidence that God calls us to enjoy in Christ.

Disclaimers

Posted on October 15, 2021 by pottsvillearp

What’s the catch? Our mothers always warned us, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” The cunning of the salesman is to promote the benefits and overcome the objections. Unfortunately, ‘the catch’ often gets lost in a sea of euphemism. And so, to bridge the gap between the sunshine of the salesman and the rainy day of reality, we have disclaimers.

Everything comes with disclaimers. The fine print. The low-toned, rapid-fire voice at the end of the commercial offering a hurried, but dire warning. Asterisks and double-daggers qualify every statement, so as to evade charges of false advertising. The dictionary defines a disclaimer as, “a statement, document, or assertion that disclaims responsibility, affiliation, etc.; disavowal; denial.” To disclaim is the opposite of claiming. The salesman claims, the legal department disclaims. Offers are made, then qualified, modified, mortified. The sales pitch promotes benefit without borders, then the disclaimer draws a very small map of possibilities.

Disclaimers makes us jaded to every remarkable promise, suspicious of every offer. Yet, I suppose this is nothing new in the history of the world. From the beginning, the Great Deceiver, deceived our forefather Adam to believe that it was God who was deceiving him. Satan added disclaimers and man doubted. Ever since, man has doubted. God offers man more than he can imagine. The offer requires only faith, yet man can only doubt. Satan suggests disclaimers. Surely God is up to no good. Surely it is a trap to defraud and destroy. And so, in our fallenness we trust the Deceiver, and view the Trustworthy One with suspicion.

But God gives something else. He gives faith as a gift. God in his mercy, gives us the faith to trust that his offer comes without disclaimers. Nothing in our doing or undoing undoes God’s offer of eternal life. And to remind us of this, He brings the great story of redemption to a close in Revelation 21 with a vision of all His promises kept. Everything He offered is given. Nothing is withheld. There are no caveats, no conditions, no last-minute substitutions – no disclaimers.

What was true regarding the people of Israel entering the promised land, is also true all who will experience the new heavens and the new earth.

Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
Joshua 21:45

Have you trusted these promises? Have you accepted God’s offer? Have you believed that eternal life in Christ appears too good to be true, but really is? Or has the Deceiver kept you looking for a disclaimer, a loophole, a conviction that God’s promise comes with asterisks and double-daggers and will come to nothing? Join us this Lord’s Day as we examine Revelation 21:1-8 and consider the offer that appears too good to be true, but really is.