The Prodigal Son Suite

 Tomorrow's sermon is from Luke 15:11-32. I cannot help but have this song in my head during my preparation: 

Keith Green - The Prodigal Son Suite

Ep. 68 - Navigating Two Aspects of my Job (As a Pastor)

Episode 68 - Listen Here: 

For those that do not know: 

My name is Matt Harmless. I am in my 23rd year as a math teacher. All but one of my first nine years of teaching were in the private Christian School setting. The rest of my career has been in public education (with the last seven years at Danville High School in Danville, IL). I have also been a pastor at Edgewood Church in Danville since the summer of 2009. I share this information for those that might be new here, but also as an introduction to today's post. 

I am going to discuss two aspects of my job, but not my teaching job... my pastoral job. I may take some time to talk about aspects of being a teacher in another post, but I wanted to make some specific points about my job as a pastor. More specifically, I wanted to discuss two things that Paul the Apostle mentions in his letter to Titus. 

Sermonic Timing

(This post will also serve as episode 38 of my podcast.)

God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

This coming July, I will have been preaching at Edgewood Church in Danville, IL for thirteen years. I have preached at least three sermons per month, with several long stretches of preaching every sermon in the month. If I had to estimate the total number of sermons that I've preached, it would be well over 600 sermons.

No. 17 in Luke - Jesus' Authority - Luke 4:31-44

 Listen to the sermon from Edgewood Church on March 28, 2021:

Two Degrees of Separation

What happened Saturday morning.

It started with me… wrestling with the scriptures this week. (Actually, the last several weeks.) This Socially Distant preaching has been difficult, but now I have an opportunity to preach to people directly, and it feels just as difficult, mostly because I’ve been away! (Out of practice.)

Saturday Morning... I had already studied, read the commentaries, wrestled some more… but Saturday morning, I still felt unsettled in my choice of what to preach on. I had gotten up and while I was sitting in my chair, sipping my coffee, I prayed and started this way, “Lord, I wish you would just tell me what to say. Cause I would say it. Seriously. If you just told me what to say, I would say it.”

A little secret insight on me: Sometimes I will pray and instead of asking for something, I will say, "I wish."  I do this when there is something that I would like, but I don't believe I necessarily ought to be asking for it... but I still want to ask for it. I still sorta hope I could ask for it. That is what I was doing this morning. But then I sat there for a moment, and I adjusted my prayer… “ No… Not ‘I wish’ that isn’t what I mean. I usually say, ‘I wish’ when I’m not really asking for it, I just want it. This time I mean it, I am asking for that. Just tell me what to say, that is what I ask. I’ll say it!”

I finished my coffee and sat there for a couple more minutes.

Truth must be told, my next action was to head to the restroom. I grabbed my kindle on the way... sorry for the graphic mental image I am painting for you… but it must be told how this happened. I sat down. (Again, sorry.) I turned on my Kindle, and it loaded the book that I had been reading most recently: “When the Man Comes Around” a commentary on Revelation by Douglas Wilson. I picked it up and read this:

So this is how it works: Jesus speaks, and then He tells John to write what He has spoken. The implication is that the angel of the church is to speak what he has read. So Jesus speaks, John writes, the angel reads, and the angel speaks.

Alright… Just so you know the context… I had just read in this book previously:

So we know that the seven lampstands are the seven churches and that the Lord Jesus was walking around in the midst of His churches. The seven stars that He held in His right hand are the seven “messengers,” or pastors of these churches. The sword in His mouth is His Word, which He gives to the successive pastors in the upcoming passages.

That is the paragraph right before that little paragraph that I read. This means that the “angel” that John refers to in this portion of Revelation is the pastor of a church. Douglas Wilson writes in another portion of the book (explaining in more detail): 

The word angel need not refer to what we would call an angelic or celestial being. John the Baptist was called an angel (Mark 1:2). Human beings are called angels in the Old Testament also (Job 1:14; Is. 42:19; Mal. 2:7; 3:1). And the word is used by Luke to refer to ordinary messengers. Jesus “sent messengers (angels) before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him” (Luke 9:52; cf. 7:24). Now of course it is possible that the angels of the first chapters of Revelation are celestial beings, but in my view this creates many more problems than it solves.

I knew this about Revelation, so I understood that idea when I read my little paragraph. I read "angel" but thought "pastor" when I was reading that... that little paragraph that I am beginning to believe God had queued up just for me. I think you should read it again, but this time, take into consideration a couple of things. One: I had just been praying, “God, please just tell me what to say… Give me the words to speak.” That thought was still rolling around in my mind as I read that paragraph. And two: I was hearing "pastor" when I read "angel"... Here it is again:

So this is how it works: Jesus speaks, and then He tells John to write what He has spoken. The implication is that the angel [pastor] of the church is to speak what he has read. So Jesus speaks, John writes, the angel [pastor] reads, and the angel [pastor] speaks.

I’ve been reading all week… not knowing what to speak. I don’t want to oversimplify the process or underplay the importance of study and the ongoing development of improving my communication skills… but in a real way: Jesus speaks, the writers of scripture write, the pastor reads the scriptures, and then the pastor speaks.

Online Church @Edgwood for April 26, 2020

Just a Harmless Podcast - Episode 02

We All Need Each Other

At Edgewood Church, we are currently working our way through First Corinthians. The last two weeks we have been in Chapter 12. (Chapter 12 Sermon 1 & Chapter 12 Sermon 2) There have been several eye-opening moments for me as I have studied my way through this book, but some of the biggest ones, at least from my perspective, have happened in this chapter. As we finish up Chapter 12 this week, I came across a summary statement in one of my commentaries that left me nodding my head in agreement, and then typing the entire thing out. I then read it to my wife because I was marveling at its implications on they way we do church.

I have included the entire quote here... and I am obviously putting it here because I would like as many of my family and friends to read this as possible. You will see that I have included 6 paragraphs. They are the final 6 paragraphs from Ben Witherington III's chapter on 1 Corinthians 12.

If you don't have a ton of reading stamina... The important paragraphs are the last 3. If you read the whole thing... Pause after the second paragraph before you embark on the remainder. Focus in on the ideas in the last three paragraphs (especially paragraphs 4 and 5).

Note as well: ekklēsia is the Greek word for Church and apostoloi is the Greek word for Apostles (or messengers).

     Paul's use of the body metaphor to speak of the Christian Community in Corinth implies that he believes that God the Holy Spirit bequeaths to each Christian community all the gifts & graces it needs to be what it ought to be. In addition, the list of gifts in this chapter strongly suggest that God gives not only abilities but also persons as gifts to the community, weather apostoloi, prophets, teachers, or others.
     But does God still do all these things for the ekklēsia today? We can certainly affirm that God provides amply for the modern at Christian community, but in some ways the provision is different. For one thing, if we are to follow Paul's ideas on this matter, apostoloi were gifts given to the ekklēsia in its first two generations, but not since then. Paul assumes in 9:1 that an essential criterion for apostleship is to have seen the risen Lord during the period of his resurrection appearances at the beginning of the church age. Furthermore, Paul tells us that he was the last to see the risen Christ (15:8). While we can certainly talk about the passing down of the apostolic teaching through the ages of the ekklēsia, we cannot talk about the passing down of the apostolic office. “Apostolic succession,” in the sense of a continued apostolic presence through a church office, is a myth, since no one after the initial witnesses can meet the essential criterion. Apostoloi were God's temporary gift to found the community of Christ, and this was probably already recognized by the end of the NT period, as Rev. 21:14 suggests (cf. also Acts 1:22). Neither “the twelve” nor “the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:5,7) were a continual presence even in the first century.
     But nothing in the NT suggests that any of the other person's as gifts or gifts to persons ceased with the early ekklēsia. Indeed, there is a considerable evidence throughout the course of church history to the contrary. How might this conclusion be applied today?
Paul is apparently referring to all the Corinthian house congregations collectively as the body of Christ. This might well suggest that one particular local house church would not have all the gifts needed in that city to serve the purposes of Christ's body. Perhaps there is a lesson here for us. As many churches as we have in every city, none of them has all the gifts, graces, and human resources necessary to be the ekklēsia of God fully and adequately in that place. There is a warning here to every singular assembly that the “church” does not cease at its doorstep. Every local assembly needs every other local assembly to be complete. Just as gifted individuals cannot say to other Christians that they are unneeded it, since no Christian has all God's gifts, so, too, this is apparently true with congregations as well. It is not accidental that different Christian faith traditions have specialized in manifesting different gifts. For example, not all truly Christian congregations have prophets or tongues speakers in them, but some do. Or again, some churches have especially nurtured the role of elder or deacon(ess).
     My plea here is not just for tolerance or ecumenical cooperation and appreciation but also for recognizing that we all need each other. Paul is correcting abuses of various gifts in chs. 12-14, but to correct abuse of a gift is not to rule out its proper use. I suspect that Paul would tell us that just as “charismania,” the overemphasis on prophecy or tongues, is not healthy, neither is “charisphobia,” the anathematizing of all such gifts. We are not called to act in the chaotic and selfish fashion the Corinthians did, but we are also not called to quench the Spirit and arrange Christian worship so that there is no room for the spontaneous Word from above to be shared. There is a balance between Spirit and structure, order and spontaneity, that should be maintained in any local congregation.
     Finally, Paul’s word about giving more honor to the weaker members of the body of Christ, the less “presentable” ones, needs to be heeded. He believes that even these folks have essential gifts and functions to exercise. It is a mistake to bring the world’s evaluative system into the ekklēsia and to set up an honor roll that favors the more presentable and dignified, or those with the more outwardly showy or dramatic gifts. Paul believes that the body of Christ is only truly strong when it gives special honor and attention to its weakest members. The more presentable members do not need such attention. 

This quote comes from pg. 262-263 from Conflict and Community in Corninth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians by Ben Witherington III

Authority

Stephen Um on authority...

"Authority is not authoritarianism. Authority is the ability to influence others -- the right to give orders and make commands with the good of others in view. Authoritarianism is enforcing strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.  It is 'showing a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others; domineering; dictatorial.'  Authority is having a supervisor who seeks his or her staff's good in harmony with the good of others, leading to personal and social flourishing. Authoritarianism, however, is having a supervisor who demands strict obedience and crushes both individual and social flourishing for the purpose of maintaining control. The problem is that all of the uneasy feelings associated with authoritarianism (which are good and proper!) have been imported into the conception of authority."

Stephen Um (1 Corinthians: The Word of the Cross, Preaching the Word Commentary Series)

Preaching Jesus Christ... Crucified

“His task had been plain, his purpose definite; he determined to know nothing among them but Jesus Christ, and to know and proclaim him in a way least acceptable to the wisdom of the world, namely, as reduced to the deep disgrace of death by the cross. It was Christ and his atoning work and not any human philosophy of human salvation that formed the sum and substance of Paul’s message.”

Charles Erdman (The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: An Exposition)

Welcoming All

At my church, when we are going through a book of the Bible, I never feel as if "I" have accomplished something or completed something... I always think of it as "we've made it through." In my mind... we worked our way through this, and this last book has been one of the largest undertakings of our Church: The Acts of the Apostles.

This morning, we will be completing our study of Acts. I believe that we started Acts in November of 2017. (You can find most, if not all, of the sermon recordings on our Edgewood Podcast.)  We've had a couple of side notes along the way, but I believe that it adds up to almost 50 sermons. I've learned so much on this particular journey, and I hope that those who have attended Edgewood, a little over the last year, have also learned from this endeavor. I thought about typing a post with some of the lessons that we've learned... but that felt a little too overwhelming. Instead, I would like to share a small fraction of the lesson that I found for today. 

Sunday's Sermon 2017-06-11

Here are the slides for the sermon on Sunday, June 11th, 2017:
(The Sermon Audio)

It dawned on me today... I have two very difficult jobs.

It dawned on me today... I have two very difficult jobs.

Now, if you know me, and you know my two jobs... you are probably thinking... "duh."

For those of you who do not know me or do not know me that well, allow me a moment to tell you about my two jobs.

You are Serving the Lord Christ.

Tomorrow I am preaching the final message in a series that dealt with the points of our (Edgewood Baptist Church's) statement of faith. When I began this series, I thought that I would be able to wrap it up in a few weeks. I was planning on combining several of the points from the statement into single messages. I actually thought it might be a tad bit boring if I wasn't careful... and I really just wanted to use these points as a sort of filler until I started to exposit through the next book of the Bible. ... boy was I off ...

With each point of our statement, our confession of faith, I have found it to be a struggle to condense that point to just one week. It has been exciting. It has been enlightening. There are several things that I have learned, that I genuinely didn't know or didn't believe before I began this study. Well, tomorrow is not different.

We will be dealing with the final point, which is the reality of the return of Christ Jesus to this world. It is dealing with end times... last things. Over the past week, as I have studied this point, examining the relevant passages of scripture, I am genuinely being motivated to continue in the work of the ministry. As I have looked at how Jesus (and the Apostles) talk about the End, when we will see Him, it has been an encouragement to keep at it, because quite frankly... He is going to reward us.

Consider John Frame's words:

Striking a Deep, Resonating Chord

I just started reading Charles Spurgeon: Preaching through Adversity by John Piper. I am going to share on this blog a portion of the introduction to this book because it struck such a deep, resonating chord with me.

If you know me in real life, you know that I have been really showing the wear and tear of trying to be a full-time pastor, a full-time teacher, a husband, a father... and everything else... a home-owner, a mechanic, a handy-man, after-school program, etc. etc. etc. I have been busy before, but I have never felt quite like I currently do.

So, when I read this introduction, I felt like I was taking a peek into my own soul. Therefore, I share this introduction to give you a peek...

unnoticed creepers

Jude is an amazingly compact little letter. There are big ideas and mind-blowing examples. There is so much in there... and such passionate words: Jude is eager, under compulsion, appealing, contending, etc. (and that is just in verse 3!)

I am preaching on a portion of Jude tomorrow, verses 3 and 4. It is a portion that I have become passionate about myself. I am hoping to grab a bit of that passion that Jude clearly was overflowing with, and minister a bit of that to Edgewood tomorrow. I am hoping it is like a shot of adrenaline. I am praying, really praying, like literally... right now... that some in the audience, including myself, will walk away ready to contend for the faith because the Church (not just Edgewood) has certain people who have crept in unnoticed, just like in Jude's day:

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
(Jude 1:3-4 ESV)

These unnoticed creepers are, whether they realize it or not, perverting Grace and denying Christ. I don't want to sound over-dramatic, but I really don't want to sound under-dramatic.

Those who fear God, should they see me and rejoice?

"Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word." 

~Psalm 119:74

This is King David writing. In this passage he says that those who fear God will see him (David) and rejoice. The reason for this rejoicing is because David has hoped in God's Word. I find this to be quite interesting.  I mean, could I (and should I) be able to say this as well?

I am trying to imagine myself saying it... "Lord, the people that fear you are going to rejoice when they see me."

OK... That is poorly phrased. I am aware that saying it in that way is emphasizing the wrong way to say this. First, I have left out an entire phrase, the key phrase that is demonstrating the real source of the people's rejoicing! Second, I placed the source of the rejoicing squarely on me, which is not where it should be. This poor phrasing serves its purpose illustrate the problem that I am having though: For King David to say this, that is fine, but for me to say something like this feels prideful.

But maybe I could say something like this.

If I am hoping in God's word, that is a reason to rejoice. It is definitely a cause to rejoice in people who fear God. Maybe I should say this... Maybe I should not hold back, but cling to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! There is nothing good in me, but because of the grace of God alone, I am hoping in the Living Word! People who fear God will rejoice when they see this!

Maybe I could even go the next step... hmm... (Saying to myself right now, "Tread carefully on Grace, Matt.  Cling to the Gospel! Matt, you are a sinner, but saved by the grace of God alone. And as a preacher of this same Gospel, it must be said... not because of you, Matt, but because of the truth of God's Word.")

"Let those who fear you turn to me,
that they may know your testimonies." 

~Psalm 119:79 ESV

What it Says... What you See?

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
(John 6:37 ESV)

What do you hear when you read this statement from Jesus?

The vast majority of Christians today... read the statement of Jesus this way: 'All who come to me the Father will give me.'

In other words... we come... we decide.

'Then the Father recognizes our decision and makes us gifts to his Son.' But that is not the way Jesus taught it. Jesus said, 'The ones whom the Father has given to Me will come to Me -- every one of them."

Sometimes the teachings of Jesus are difficult. Will you listen to them, re-interpret them, or just plain ignore them?

(I preached on this passage of scripture this past Sunday. More than one person walked away questioning... but what I loved was that they weren't questioning me... as far as I could tell... they were questioning Jesus. In a good way!)

The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon - Book Review

The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon (Long Line of Godly Men Profiles) is the second book that I have read by Steven J. Lawson. The first one was The Expository Genius of John Calvin, which you can find my review of by clicking here.

When I was younger, reading biographies was not all that important to me. I enjoyed fiction, most specifically, science fiction and fantasy.  But as I have "aged" biographies, especially those focused on prominent people in church history, have begun to draw my attention and have brought me great encouragement. And Steven J. Lawson does an amazing job of bringing these individuals to life through his knowledge and study and by focusing on essential details and aspects of their lives.

In this book about Charles Spurgeon, I have used the "highlight" feature on my kindle more than any other book that I have read. Nearly every page had some quote from Spurgeon that I found either encouraging, thought provoking, or convicting.

The author begins this book by talking about the impact that Spurgeon had on him as a Pastor. After being confronted with the Biblical teachings on the sovereignty of God, he found himself wrestling with how to preach.  Then he says that Spurgeon showed him:

"In one hand, he (Spurgeon) held the sovereignty of God in man's salvation. With the other hand, he extended the free offer of the gospel to all. He preached straightforward Calvinistic doctrine, then, in the same sermon, fervently urged lost sinners to call on the name of the Lord. Having expounded the truths of predestination, he then warned his listeners that if the refused Christ, their blood would be on their own hands. In sermon after sermon, this prolific preacher expounded God's sovereign grace with unmistakable precision. Yet, he did it with a genuine passion for the lost." 

"I concluded that this was what it must look like to be consumed with the glory of God in the salvation of the elect and, at the same time, be filled with flaming zeal in reaching sinners with the gospel. There was no cold, clinical Calvinism here -- no dead orthodoxy, no 'frozen chosen' religion, no empty rehearsing of Reformed doctrine for people to take or leave as they might choose. Neither was there any shallow evangelism that portrayed God as pacing heaven, wringing His hands, desperate for someone to accept Him. Instead, here was what the Puritans described as a fire in the pulpit, yielding both the light of Calvinistic truth and the heat of evangelistic passion." 

"In Spurgeon, I saw a historical example of what God was calling me to be and do. I finally understood that my Reformed theology was not a hindrance but a launching pad for evangelism. Here was the best of both worlds. I already had come to see clearly how these twin truths meet in the Bible. Now I could see how they come together in preaching." 

"Tragically, many pulpits today are pulled toward on of two extremes -- the dead orthodoxy of Hyper-Calvinism or the shallow inconsistencies of Arminianism. In the former error, the doctrines of grace are upheld, but with little burden for the lost and no free offer of the gospel to all. In the latter error, there is soul-winning fervor, but the supreme authority of God in the salvation of men's souls is denied. Between these polar opposites stands the biblical Calvinism, claiming the high ground in both message and ministry."

There are so many other quotes and sayings of Spurgeon that I wanted to include in this review, but I believe that this quote from Lawson captures the importance of reading about Spurgeon, while at the same time revealing much of my own heart as well.

I highly recommend this book. Whatever the cost, it is worth every penny. Consider picking up the Kindle version on Amazon.

Coalition for Community Involvement

On November 21st, at 7pm, in the Georgetown Ridge Farm High School Cafeteria, there will be the first meeting of the GRF Coalition for Community Involvement.  This event is open to anyone in the Georgetown Ridge Farm Community.

Tonight I will be sharing the vision of the Coalition, with a key aspect on emphasizing Open Doors.  Even though this is not geared toward Churches or Christian Organizations, it is an amazing opportunity for Pastors and other Church Members to get involved in kids lives.

If you know anyone in the Georgetown Ridge Farm Community, or just someone who cares about this community (they don't have to have children in the school or even live in this community) then please pass this along.  This includes Pastors, Church leaders, Church members, Business owners, Law Enforcement, City Leaders, Public officials, Family members, Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and any other Concerned citizens.

Please Pray that this meeting goes well and loads of people will show up.