Blog: January 2017 — December 2017

The Psalms contain so much more than just wise words from antiquity.  These Old Testament worship songs are rich, expansive, timeless—looking beyond the historical setting to a grand, ultimate fulfillment. We saw this last Sunday in Psalm 2.  I mentioned that 6 out of 12 verses in Psalm 2 are alluded to in 18 New Testament passages, link­ing God’s Anointed-King-Son with Jesus Christ.  For example, Psalm 2:7 (You are my Son; today I have begotten you) is echoed several times: Luke 3:22, at Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit announced, You ...

Jesus had been teaching His disciples when Peter asked Jesus, “How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me?” Peter suggested seven times. Jews considered it standard to show forgiveness three times (see Job 33:29­30), so Peter probably thought he was going above and beyond. Jesus answered Peter’s question by telling a story about an unmerciful servant. In the parable, a servant owed his master ten thousand talents. A talent was equal to about 20 years of wages. Ten thousand talents represented a debt that could never ...

In “Screwtape” fashion (if you don’t know what I mean, check out C. S. Lewis’s book by that title), Tim Challies notes “Five Great Reasons to Skip Reading Your Bible This Summer” (challies.com). They include:  “You’re on vacation.  Vacations are for doing fun stuff.”  And “You’re out of routine”—so all good habits go down the drain.  Also, “The kids are under your feet all day.”  Plus, “No one will notice”—small group has disbanded for the season, missing church is no big deal, nobody’s in your face to say anything.  And “It’s too hot”—how ...

We’re excited to continue our Goshen Baptist Church staff interviews with our Youth Director, DJ Cronrath as he shares with us his journey of becoming a youth director, his future outlook of youth ministry and some very exciting news! Goshen Baptist Church (GBC): Hey DJ. I believe you have some very important news to share with us?? DJ: Yes, Danielle and I are expecting our 3rd child! GBC: That’s wonderful! Congratulations! DJ: Thanks GBC: Well, welcome to West Chester!  What do you think so far? DJ: I think it’s great.  ...

  The Gospels record dozens of Jesus’ parables. A parable is a story Jesus told to help people understand the kingdom of God. Each parable taught a lesson and revealed secrets of God’s kingdom for those who would understand. (See Matt. 13:10­13.) The parable of the sower would have resonated with those listening because they would have been familiar with the practice of sowing or planting seeds. But the parable had a deeper meaning. It contained a lesson about God’s Word and the responses of those who hear it. In the parable, a ...

Do you love God’s Word?  I don’t mean the pages or the grammar or even the information conveyed.  I mean do you love hearing from the One who made you, and pursued you (as a shepherd does a stray sheep), and rescued you from eternal misery, and embraced you as his own dear child?  Do you love hearing God’s voice in Scripture?  Delight in God’s Word is a pervasive theme in Psalm 119: 14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. 20 My soul is consumed ...

Zacchaeus lived in the town of Jericho. He was a chief tax collector. Zacchaeus’s job was to collect money from the Jews for the Roman government. Many people knew Zacchaeus, and many did not like him. The Bible says that Zacchaeus was rich. Tax collectors often collected more money than necessary and kept the surplus for themselves. His greed and dishonesty led Zacchaeus to being looked down upon as a “sinner.” But Zacchaeus treasured his wealth more than his reputation. Zacchaeus probably never imagined that his entire life would change ...

At the time Jesus was on earth, the social food chain went like this: Jews don’t talk to Samaritans. The strife between the two groups stretched back hundreds of years, to the Babylonian exile. When the Babylonians attacked Judah, they moved a large group of God’s people away from their homes. But some of the people—the poorest, sickest, least able to work—were left behind in the region that became known as Samaria. The exile lasted 70 years.  During that time, those left in Samaria began to mingle with their neighbors to the north. They ...

Our studies in 1 Corinthians have prompted us to revisit the Bible’s teaching on man and woman in the life of the church.  Chapter 11 addressed gender-specific actions in worship:  women were to wear head-coverings when praying and prophesying; not doing so in the social setting of the time would have dishonored a married woman’s “head,” her husband (11:5).  Then ch. 14 indicated that women should “be silent” (14:34)—and yet we know this is not an absolute prohibition; it must be with respect to a certain type of speaking.  After all, 11:5 ...

Last Sunday we explored 1 Corinthians 13 together—the love chapter. And although God’s truth about love can be applied in marriage, friend­ship, and just about any kind of relationship, the point of the passage is to infuse the culture of the church with a self-giving, Christ-like attitude that relentlessly pursues the good of the beloved. “Love is patient and kind” (13:4).  Love “does not insist on its own way” (13:5).  Love is tough; it “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (13:7).  And love never ...

This week, as the wonder of Jesus’ Resurrection Victory reverberates through our hearts and minds, I’m gripped by the Apostle Paul’s “if-then” argument in 1 Corinthians 15.  He explores a monu­mental IF:  What IF Jesus Christ had never been raised from the dead? And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied (15:17-19). It would be hard to exaggerate ...

You simply can’t overstate the bedrock importance for Christianity of Jesus rising from the dead.  The resurrection is the key­stone at the very center of God’s grand arch spanning from history to eternity, bridging over the chasm of sin and death:  without it, the whole structure of salvation comes tumbling down. This, of course, means the resurrection—Christ’s historical, physical return from death to life—is not one of those peripheral points or secondary issues on which believers may feel free to disagree.  No, it’s pivotal and ...

In 1804, Thomas Kelly, an Irish pastor, wrote a hymn that helps us step back and process what really took place 2,000 years ago on the cross of Christ:  “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted.” Of course, as a church we gladly join together in upbeat, celebrative songs of praise to our all-glorious God.  It’s fitting to call out to the Lord with shouts of joy as his beloved children.  But it’s appropriate as well—and even more than that, it’s urgent—to enter into songs that are sobering and solemn:  worship music that helps us grasp, and feel, ...

In the third chapter of Zechariah, Joshua the High Priest appears in filthy garments.  He sees his own dirtiness, and knows that he is unable to make himself clean.  The fourth verse says: "And the angel said to those who were standing before [Joshua], “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to [Joshua] he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” It is impossible for us to remove our own filth.  God does the cleaning at the cross.  In an act that demonstrates humility more ...

The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday—the day Jesus entered Jerusalem as the King of kings the week of Passover. Many of God’s people traveled to Jerusalem for Passover. Jesus and His disciples traveled to Jerusalem as well. Near Bethphage (BETH fayj) and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead into a village to bring a donkey to Him. Jesus made a spectacular entrance into the city. He rode the donkey, and people laid branches and their robes on the ground in front of Him. The people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem ...

If you come to Scripture looking for words of comfort and affirmation and reassurance, you’ll find them, for sure.  But if your eyes are wide open, you’ll also see other kinds of good words:  messages of warning and correction and rebuke.  And that’s because God loves us. Take 1 Corinthians 10.  Verse 13 is a “famous” promise:  “No tempta­tion has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be ...

Zechariah’s son, John, grew up in the wilderness. John’s ministry began when God’s word came to him, and he began preaching near the Jordan River. John worked to get the people ready for the coming of Jesus, fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy, “A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness” (Isa. 40:3). John called the people to repent of their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River. John also instructed the people on right living. (See Luke 3:10-14.) Some of the people suspected that John might be the ...

Katy Manni is a mother of four children and married to our Associate Minister, Pete Manni. She recently started writing her own blog, Dear Emmy, to express her personal experiences of being a mother of a special needs child. As a result, Katy has connected with many moms dealing with the same struggles and anxieties and Katy (and Emmy) have been an encouragement to so many. The Manni’s are on a journey with their youngest daughter Emmy that is unchartered territory but God is providing each step of the way. Emmy has Williams Syndrome-  a ...

It seems that the phrase, “All things to all people,” has taken on a life of its own in contemporary English.  Dictionary.com says, “Today it often appears in a political context, but phrased negatively, as in He wants to be a good school committee member, but he can’t be all things to all people.”  After all, who can satisfy everyone completely? Of course, the phrase comes from Scripture, and the Apostle Paul gave it a profoundly positive sense:  “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians ...

Have you ever seen the movie, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”?  It’s the story of a mad-scientist dad who accidentally reduces his teenage son and daughter and their two friends to the size of insects.  A wild plot unfolds with parents seeking “lost” children, and four micro-people desperately trying to make themselves known.  All good humor. But not so funny when we shrink spiritual realities that are truly grand and immense.  I’m thinking of prayer—after Jim Rhodes’s reminder last Sunday from Ephesians 3, and how Paul prayed for believers, ...