This Sunday, Carlos Griego preached the first of two sermons overviewing the book of Acts in our series God Speaks: We Listen. As Carlos said, this book is a good match for a resident church planter to preach. Of course, it is also a good book for a church planting church to hear. By God’s grace, DSC will plant Redemption Rio Rancho in early 2012 and see the gospel spread in that place.

In the course of his sermon, Carlos explored the nature of God’s new humanity. When men and women believed on Christ and received the Spirit, these individually transformed people were together a transformed people. By extension of this work of the Spirit in them, a transformation of culture followed. Carlos quoted from Rodney Stark’s book, The Rise of Christianity, which relates something of how this happened in and through the early church:

“. . . Christianity served as a revitalization movement that arose in response to the misery, chaos, fear, and brutality of life in the urban Greco-Roman world. . . . Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachment. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fire, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services. . . . For what they brought was not simply an urban movement, but a new culture capable of making life in Greco-Roman cities more tolerable. . . . But perhaps, above all else, Christianity brought a new conception of humanity to a world saturated with capricious cruelty and the vicarious love of death.” (161, 214)

Now, Carlos also explored the opposition Christians faced because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. So, there’s no one response which indicates faithful Christianity. But with that qualification, Carlos asked a good question, If the church was to close up shop in 10 years would the cities of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho miss us? Would we have loved those around us so deeply, met needs, cared for the city and served in such a way that if we were to disappear, a hole in this place would be felt?

Carlos blogs regularly at the site for DSC’s first church plant, Redemption Rio Rancho. Links for July’s listening in our plan to listen through the New Testament this summer are available here.

In Sunday’s sermon, “God Speaks in the Book of John,” we explored the book of John to better understand John’s purpose for writing, expressed in John 20:30-31:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

What does it mean to believe? What does it mean that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God? What does it mean to have life in his name?

Of course, we want more than to understand what John has said here, but to know what he means in our very hearts. We want to believe that Jesus is the Christ, to apprehend all that that entails, and to know eternal life first hand, which is nothing less than knowing Christ Jesus himself.

Ahead of the sermon we sang a song that is new but becoming familiar to us at DSC: “Jesus, I Come.” The lyrics are worth praying through as we listen to the gospel of John this month:

Jesus, I Come

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair, into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Click here or here to listen to or purchase this great song.

In Sunday’s sermon, “God Speaks in the Order of Biblical Books,” Ron opened up our summer-long series God Speaks, We listen: Through the New Testament in 90 Days Together. As you know, we’re listening or reading through the New Testament as a church at a rate of about 12 minutes a day. Instructions for obtaining audio are available here, and audio is posted daily to DSC’s Facebook Page. If you haven’t started yet, just pick up with today’s reading and go from there.

On Sunday, Ron shared a few slides giving the order of the Bible’s books. A Pdf of what he shared is available here. If you weren’t with us on Sunday but plan to listen, this should help you do so, as Ron spent a good portion of his sermon expanding on the order and arrangement of the Bible.

At the close of his sermon, Ron also gave some great suggestions to help you not only listen to the New Testament, but to listen to the New Testament well. Here they are:

1. As you listen to, or read through, a book in the New Testament, see if you can figure out what question the book is trying to answer.
2. Make a list of one or two key verses in each book.
3. As you listen to a book, chapter by chapter, write down what that book is teaching about Christ.

In Sunday’s sermon, “Work unto the Lord,” Ryan preached from Colossians 3:22-4:1, where Paul addresses the relationship between slaves and masters. In the first half of his message, Ryan developed three points at length to clarify what Paul did and did not mean by addressing “slaves” and “masters”:

1. Roman slavery was not exactly the same thing as American slavery
2. These categories (slave/master) are descriptive not prescriptive
3. What is prescriptive in this passage goes beyond cultural norms

Both are image bearers. In God’s sovereignty, both have a unique station in life. Both have the same Master in heaven. Both are serving the Lord Christ.

We do well to understand the meaning of “slaves” and “masters” in Paul’s context and listening to Ryan develop his three points will help. But we can’t miss the significance of Paul’s instructions for us. In our immediate context, this text speaks into the boss/employee relationship, even if the parallel is not exact. In whatever our station, we are to work obediently, honorably, heartily, worshipfully, expectantly, and with love.

But Paul’s instructions also speak to our concept of vocation itself. In his article, “Hands On,” Doug Wilson thoughtfully fills out Bible’s teaching on the essential dignity of all work:

All craftsmanship, diligence, and hard-working hands are from the Lord. The work might be close and tight, like cunning embroidery, or it might take place on a large and grand scale, like designing and building a suspension bridge. . . . Hands on the keyboard writing a poem or a novel. Hands framing a house. Hands on a drafting table, designing the next generation of space shuttle. Hands under the hood of a car. Hands creating a glorious watercolor. Hands ministering to the sick. Hands picking up the living room. Hands making love. Hands holding a scalpel and removing a tumor. Hands skillfully typesetting a book. Hands pushing a lawn mower. Hands buttoning up a small child’s coat. Hands cutting hair. Hands cradling a hunting rifle. Hands arranging a table setting and bringing a platter of hot food. Hands positioned perfectly on a basketball while playing “horse” in the driveway. Hands laying brick. . . . We are to give ourselves to handiwork because we are His handiwork.

On the subject of vocation, we recommend the following books:

• God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life, Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
• Luther on Vocation, Gustaf Wingren
• Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work and Leisure, Leland Ryken
• Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business, Wayne Grudem

Also, a number sermons are available for download on the topic of “work and vocation” on the Messages part on this site.

In Sunday’s sermon, “A Home Pleasing to The Lord,” Ryan preached from Colossians 3:20-21, where Paul gives these instructions to children and to parents: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

At the conclusion of the service, Ryan referenced an article by Matt Schmucker, “39 Lessons, 20 Tips and 10 ‘Dont’s’ For Parenting.” Print, read, and hand this article around. Here are a few of Schmucker’s lessons, tips, and don’ts, to whet your appetite for this wise counsel.

Lessons About Ourselves:

1. To be a faithful steward of your children you must abide in Christ (John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”).
2. “Trickle down theory” – Mom’s daily devotion naturally trickles down to encouragement and instruction in the Lord for the children.
3. Not listening to your children causes you to misjudge them (James 1:19-20: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires”).

20 More Tips for Raising God-honoring Children

1. The saying goes, “When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” We believe daddy is actually the problem. From a complementarian’s viewpoint one needs to conclude the above saying with, “And if daddy ain’t happy in the Lord, ain’t nobody happy.”
2. In a stay-at-home-mom scenario, dad tends to back away from discipline when mom has been with the children all day. In one sense this is wise as he has not observed the rhythm and rhyme of the day. However, dad needs to catch up and jump in.
3. Talk to both good and not-so-good parents; you’ll learn lessons from both.

Ways To (Wrongly) Provoke Your Children

1. Make it a habit to discipline your child while angry.
2. Make it a point to scold your child – especially in public. Mockery and ridicule work well.
3. Deliberately embarrass your child in front of his/her friends. Name calling really gets their attention.

Of course, our text in Colossians lined up nicely with Mother’s Day. We’re grateful for God’s wise design for the family and for mothers. For the very reason that motherhood is honorable, motherhood can also be a difficult subject. For some women who have lost children, or long to be mothers, Mother’s Day is a reminder of loss and unfulfilled longings. This is a reality in a fallen world, and one Christians mean to address with the comfort of the gospel. On this subject, Wendy Alsup has a helpful post for all us us, “For Moms, Former Moms, and Wannabe Moms.”

Finally, here are a number of helpful resources on parenting, many of them available at the Resource Center:

• Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Tedd Tripp
• Instructing a Child’s Heart, Tedd and Margy Tripp
• Your Child’s Profession of Faith, Dennis Gundersen
• Hints for Parents, Gardiner Spring and Tedd Tripp
• Gospel Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting, William Farley
• Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God, Bruce Ware
• Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens, Paul Tripp
• Pastor Dad, Mark Driscol