Pastor Prince

Elton Trueblood once said, "All truth contains a measure of paradox."  That's certainly true of the doctrine of election.  It contains a measure of paradox.  And mystery! The latter part of Romans 8 and the first part of Romans 9 is one of the classic passages about election.  In 8:29-30, Paul said that those God foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.  Those he predestined, he called, those he called, he justified, and those he justified, he glorified.  He followed this statement with scripture references to Malachi's prophecy about Jacob and Esau and to the Exodus account concerning Pharaoh.   Historically, Christ followers have fallen into two camps: Calvinistic (Reformed) and Arminian.   The Calvinistic camp emphasizes God's sovereignty in electing those who would be saved.  People don't have free wills or free choices about following Christ.  God determined their decision before he created the world.  Christ di

One person goes through a terrible experience and emerges from it stronger, more mature, and more loving.  Another goes through a similar experience and emerges from it weaker, less mature, and bitter.   What's the difference? I think it has to do with what's in the person's heart.  It has to do with his or her faith and perspective of life.   In Romans 8:35-39, the apostle Paul asked, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?''  Is there any person or place or experience that can remove us from Christ's loving presence?  Trouble? Hardship? Danger?  Sword? Paul could answer this question because he experienced all the above and more.  He said, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."  We conquer all these things through Christ's love for us. To be sure, we can have times when Christ's love seems far away from us. In the depths of suffering in times like these, we can won

What's your frame of mind today?  In this time of pandemic and shutdown, you may be worried or bored or pessimistic or lonely or depressed. Or all the above! What determines your frame of mind?  Is it your circumstances? Your will? Is your frame of mind molded by what's going on at the moment, or can you reshape it? The apostle Paul talked about our minds in Romans 8:1ff.  He said that can determine what we set our minds to.  We can focus our minds on following our lower natures or the Holy Spirit who lives inside us.   A fact that should help our frame of mind is that we're God's children.  In a sense, everyone is God's child.  God made all of us.  But in a spiritual sense, we fully become God's children when we put our faith in Christ and follow him.   We're not his children because we're better than others.  We're his children because we've put our faith in Christ and followed him.   As his children, we have status.  H

"It was on fire when I lay down on it."  Robert Fulghum wrote about reading this statement in a small town newspaper.   Smoke was billowing from a second story window.  The Fire Department arrived, broke down the front door, ran up a set of stairs, and pulled a man off a burning bed.  Later, when they asked him how he got in that predicament, he said, "It was on fire when I lay down on it." Why on earth did he do that?  We don't know, but his story reveals a human truth.  We often do self-destructive things.  We testify, "People told me not to do it, but I did it anyway."  "I knew it was wrong, but I did it." The apostle Paul wrote about our human propensity to sin and self-destructive behavior in Romans 7:14-25.  Verse 15 sums up his point, "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do and what I hate I do."   He describes an intense inner battle.  On one side is the "flesh," his

Easter is about more than you going to heaven.  That's part of it, but not near all!  It's about your death and resurrection. In Romans 6, Paul was answering opponents.  Those opponents said that if salvation is by God's grace through faith, then you have no motivation for righteous living and good works.  Why not sin more to get more grace? Paul answered by using the image of baptism.  He said when the pastor plunged you under water, he symbolized your death in Christ.  Through faith you died on the cross with Jesus.  Your old self was a slave to sin and rebellion against God.   Paul said when the pastor raised you up from the water, he symbolized your resurrection in Christ.  Not just in the future but in the present.  In faith, you identify with Jesus' death and his resurrection.  You're raised to a new life, free from slavery to sin. So Easter is about more than personal salvation.  It's about transformation: dying to an old life and ris

What meaning can we find in our suffering?  Especially in suffering related to our current pandemic.  We wonder what God is up to in our world and our lives! In Romans 5:1ff, Paul gives us help.  If he hadn't suffered much, we could minimize his words.  But he suffered far more than any of us ever will!  He says that through our faith in God, we stand in God's grace.  That's a great place to stand.  We have peace with him though Christ, and his grace surrounds us and is in us. He says we can boast in our sufferings.  Not about what we do.  But in what God does in us through them.   Suffering produces perseverance.  Perseverance is the ability to keep going despite the obstacles.  Like the marathon runner. Perseverance produces character.  The word he used for "character" refers to something proven.  Perseverance through suffering proves us, grows us, makes us stronger. Character produces hope.  We've seen God help us in the past. 

How do we become right with God?  That question is at the core of most religions.  However, different religions give different answers to it.  On top of that, religions may differ within themselves about the answer to that question.  Including Christianity! The apostle Paul dove into this issue in Romans 3:21-31.  He had already established that both Jews and Gentiles had failed to be righteous before God.  God's answer to that problem was to give righteousness to humanity, a righteousness apart from the law that was affirmed by the Law and the Prophets. It's as if we've all fallen overboard in the ocean and none of us can swim.  None of us can swim, so we all need saving! This righteousness comes by God's grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.   In verses 23-24, the apostle asserted that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.  "All" really means "all, " Jew and Gentile.  But he also said that both are justifi

Average Americans are sure they're going to heaven.  They're just not sure about you!   A recent study showed that 88% of people in our country are sure of their salvation.  However, when asked what percentage of people are going to heaven, they gave a much lower number.  Anywhere from 64% to 15%!   The apostle Paul took up this subject in Romans 2:1ff.  In Romans 1, he showed how sinful the world had become.  He said God's wrath was being poured out on those who willfully rebelled against God.  I'm sure his readers nodded their heads soberly and said "amen" as Paul talked about the wickedness and perversion common in the world.  They thought he wasn't talking about them! But then Paul slapped them on the head.  He said they had no excuse because at whatever point they condemned others they condemned themselves because they were guilty of the same sins!    Christ followers in Rome were certain that when Christ returned, things would go

This week, we celebrated Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.  Lent is the 40-day season before Easter, the greatest day on the church calendar.  It's a time of prayerful preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. In our church during Lent, we're going to focus on the book of Romans.  That's because Romans answers the question: Why did Jesus come to the world to die for our sins and rise from the dead?  It's a great guide to preparing for Easter! Romans 1:16-17 is the theme of the book.  Paul says the gospel is the power of God for salvation.  The word "gospel" is the English translation of a Greek word that means "proclaim good news."  The good news is that the Messiah has come, died on the cross for our sins, and risen from the dead.  Whoever puts his or her faith in him will receive eternal life. The word Paul used for "power" is dunamis , the root for our word "dynamite."  Of

  The great theologian Emil Brunner once said, "The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning."  He meant that a sense of mission and calling gives life and meaning to the people of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus made it plain to his followers that they had a mission.  He told Peter he would build his church out of people like him, and that church would overcome the gates of death itself!  He sent his followers out two by two on a preaching tour.  After his resurrection, but before his ascension to heaven, he told them they were to go and make disciples of all nations. This disciple-making mission was to take place in the context of churches.  While individuals went out and shared the good news, they always did it in connection with a church or group of churches.   Early Christ followers took up this mission and transformed the ancient world.  But once Christianity become predominant, mission work weakened and nearly died.   Thankfully, in the la

The New Testament teaches that every Christ follower should be a minister (see 1 Cor. 12:1ff).  It also teaches that God empowers us by the Holy Spirit to minister in his name. In addition to all this, the New Testament shows that God designed the local church to be the context in which ministry takes place.  All the ministry of the early church took place through local congregations. In 2 Cor. 1:3-7, the apostle Paul describes the help and strength for ministry we share in the local church.  He praised the God of all comfort who comforts us in our trials.  His help flows into our hearts and then overflows to the people around us.  We comfort others with the comfort God has given us.   In the church, we experience vital connections to each other.  We're a community of shared suffering and joy.  We minister to others in Christ's name, while at the same time receiving their ministry.   The point of the church's internal ministry is to empower us to minist

One of the worst feelings in the world is to want to quit because we feel whatever we're doing is too difficult.  There's nothing more difficult than following Christ.  So it shouldn't be surprising that sometimes you want to give up! Thankfully, God gave us a group to encourage us: the church! Hebrews 3:13 calls us to "encourage each other daily."  The Greek word for "courage" means to call out to someone.  When you encourage someone, you call out to them in love, giving them hope and confidence. Later, in Hebrews 10:25, the writer encouraged Christ followers to be faithful in meeting together, because their fellow Christ followers encouraged them to be faithful. One of the reasons God gave us the church was to encourage us.  Our fellow church members cheer for us, giving us heart and hope.   Acts 2:42-47 provides a snapshot of life in the early church.  It says Christ followers devoted themselves to various activities, among th

Why church?  More precisely, why should you belong to a church?  That's a good question in a time in which many people are finding few reasons to do so! One of the most important reasons why you should belong to a church is that you grow best as a Christ follower when you do!   Before we explore why that is, we need to distinguish between attending a church and belonging to one.  When you just attend a church, you take on the role of spectator.  You observe and maybe even take part in worship.  But you're not engaged with the church. When you belong to a church, you enter into covenant with a group of Christ followers.  You become engaged with them in fulfilling your mission to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus. The accumulated wisdom of church history is that we grow in our following of the Lord Jesus by practicing spiritual disciplines.  Among the most important of them is belonging to a church. Why?  One of the most important reasons is that when you

John Mark could be the Forrest Gump of the New Testament!  Not because of his intelligence or athletic ability.  But because of all the famous people he rubbed shoulders with!  You may not have ever noticed him, but he's there and has a remarkable story! He first appears in Acts 12:12.  He's identified as being present in the home of his mother Mary when the church gathered there to pray for Simon Peter when he was in prison.   Then he's noted in Acts 13:5 as being with Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus as they began their missionary journey.  He didn't stay with them long.  Acts 13:13 says he left them to return home to Jerusalem.  It doesn't seem like a big deal at the time.  But Acts 15:38 says he deserted them. Paul and Barnabas continued their journey, eventually returning to Antioch.  After a time, Paul proposed that they go back to all the cities they visited on their first trip and see how the churches were doing.  Barnabas agreed, but wanted to ta

"I can't believe he did that!"  Have you ever said that about someone?  Even the best of us can do things that are inexplicably bad.  That's because even the best of us are broken! One of the best examples in the scriptures of inexplicable behavior is David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder he committed to cover it up.  We read about it in 2 Samuel 11:1ff. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and she became pregnant.  The difficult thing for him was Bathsheba's husband Uriah was far away on the battlefield.  Everyone would know she was guilty of adultery and the trail would lead to David.  The king went into a coverup mode, ordering Uriah to come back home.  David made repeated attempts to get Uriah to go home to sleep with his wife, but without success.   Finally, in exasperation, David sent Uriah back to the battlefield with a sealed message for the commander.  The message told the commander to put Uriah in the heaviest part

Are you a planner?  Not everybody is!  Some people feel lost if they don't begin each day with a plan.  Others like to go with the flow and take the day as it comes! Those of us who are planners don't like to have our plans interrupted. It confuses and frustrates us.   Moses had a plan.  Or at least seems to have!  Exodus 2:11ff says that one day he went out to see the oppression of his people.  He had been raised as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, but at some point became aware of his Hebrew heritage.  While he was out, he saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating one of his people.  Maybe he had observed many incidents like this.  Moved by what he saw, he glanced around, and saved his fellow Hebrew by killing the Egyptian.  He hid his body in the sand. Maybe his plan was to become something like a Hebrew Avenger, leading his people out of slavery.  Maybe he even thought God would approve! But God blew up Moses' plan. The next day, he tried to break up a