Ancient Upgrade-The Modern Church with Ancient Belief

Ecclesia semper reformanda est.  . . . The Church always needs reforming. It was a basic tenet of the reformation movement in Europe half a millennia ago.  They knew the result of the loss of clarity regarding the gospel, mission and holiness.  Every church has to navigate these waters.  We must dig deep, intractable roots to anchor us when all else seems lost.  We must stay out of sin and engage our world.  We must represent a kingdom that is not yet here, to a time and a place that is.

The reformation of the church is a constant call.  It was the journey of first century Christ-followers and has continued throughout history. During our fall series we will look at the call to ancient belief in the modern church.

The Schedule::

September 9^th:         Intro: The Modern Church with Ancient Belief

September 16^th:       The Nature of God

September 23^rd:       Creation: The Work of God

September 30^th:       Covenant: The Promises of God

October 7^th:               Incarnation: God With Us

October 14^th:             Cross: God For Us

October 21^st:             Resurrection: God Over Us

October 28^th:             Sanctification & Discipleship

November 4^th:           Word & Spirit

November 11^th:        The Church Part 1

November 18^th:        The Church Part 2

November 25^th:        Worship

PROVERBS SCHEDULE::

July 8^th-       Proverbs begins: Why Biblical Wisdom Matters.

July 15^th-     Humility

July 22^nd-    Family

July 29^th-     Emotions

August 5^th-  Words

August 12^th-  Derek Levendusky preaches. Not related to the series. Derek is the newest church planter that Terra Nova is supporting. He is planting near Rochester in Avon, NY. You may know Derek from the local band Isaiah 6.

August 19^th-  Friendship

August 26^th-  Money

Sept. 2^nd-      The Sluggard

I’ve added those books to our Amazon Store HERE.

Additionally, I quoted a book by Tim Keller which can be found HERE. Kindle users can follow THIS LINK.

You will often find great shorter articles on bible.org.

Keep studying!

Listen to the full series in I-Tunes or here on our website int the Media Archive.

The Frequently Asked Questions series brings together questions that you submitted earlier this year into a 10 week sermon series.

You may not see your exact question below, but it may be embedded in the scope of a particular week. For example, several people asked about Deacons or Elders and what the Bible says about who can be in those roles. All of those differently worded questions are combined into one sermon on “What the Bible says about Church Leadership”.

Here is the full schedule. This is going to be a great series. Be sure to invite others.

FAQ SERIES BREAKDOWN—APRIL 22-JUNE 24

April 22- What is the will of God and how does that relate to Free Will?

April 29- What is the role of the Holy Spirit today?

May 6- What does the Bible say about church leadership?

(Note: On May 6th, Daniel Williams will be recognized officially as a Pastor at Terra Nova!)

May 13- What is the difference among denominations and cults?

May 20- How did we get the Bible and can we trust it?

May 27-How do we interpret the Bible and apply it to our lives today?

June 3- What does the Bible say about water Baptism?

June 10-  What does the Bible say about sex?

June 17- What does the Bible say about dating, marriage and divorce?

June 24- Why believe in Jesus and not some other god, or no god?

The sermon series has been on the Biblical basics of marriage.  It has touches on four foundational pieces.

1. Marriage and the Gospel
2. Compliments: Trinity, Roles in Marriage, and Sex
3. Love: Speaking and Living It
4. Marriage as Ministry

As a result, there is a lot of depth and tangential issues that are not touched on within our times on Sunday.  I encourage you to discuss that in your Tribes [community groups at Terra Nova Church].

Further, I want to recommend the following books on marriage, sex, and dating. [If you click on the links, you can buy them on Amazon]

Best Old School Book

St. John Chrysostom on Marriage

These are sermons from the patristic preacher who became known as the golden tongued.  The amazing thing is the sermons are not clever, trendy or a running list of applications for every demographic available.  They are biblical, honest, and gracious.

Best Complete Overview

God, Marriage and Family

Andreas J. Kostenberger

The book is thorough and biblical.  While Kostenberger is one of the smarter guys on the team, a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Seminary and a professor of Christian ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the book is readable and practical.

Best Yet to Be Published

Real Marriage

Mark and Grace Driscoll

I received eagerly the advanced reader copy.  This is what we would expect from Driscoll at his best.  It is filled with a biblical vision of what families can be under Christ and peppered with his charismatic personality and propensity to spin well the right story.  This is a book for couples and families by a pastor who loves the Church.

Best Pastoral Counsel Book

What Did You Expect?

Paul David Tripp

On staff at 10^th Presbyterian in Philadelphia, Tripp is a pastoral counselor.  This a book focusing on the nature of sin in people and the realities of sin in marriage.  He calls us to 6 key commitments to making marriage endure with grace.

Best on Marriage Reflecting God and Grace [also my wife’s favorite]

Sacred Marriage

Gary Thomas

The book challenges us that marriage is more than the coupling of two people, it is the display of God and his grace to each other, our family and beyond.  This book calls us to marriage as an act of service and worship with God.

Books Used in Pre-Marital Counseling at Terra Nova Church

The Marriage Builder

Larry Crabb

While you will want to ignore the drawings of foppish men with mustaches and women who appear to have been hung from heaven, the content is practical and challenging.  Its section on communication and ministry versus manipulation have always been especially helpful.

The 5 Love Languages

Gary Chapman

What if you said I love you, but your spouse never heard you?  This book expands on some of the ways people perceive and express love.  It is an eye opener for most couples.  While most know pretty quickly what their love languages are, there are also free online questionnaires.

Intended For Pleasure

Ed Wheat

This is THE book on sex. Every married couple should read it.

Other books of note:

 This Momentary Marriage

John Piper

When Sinners Say “I Do”

Dave Harvey

Love & Respect

Emerson Eggerichs

Two Becoming One

Don and Sally Meredith

Starting July 17th, Terra Nova will begin a new Summer Teaching Series called Urban Legends | debunking christian myths. Think of this as snopes.com for the church. Lots of people do and believe some pretty odd things with no real truth to back that belief up. This Summer, we will look at six myths often believed by intelligent well-meaning Christ-Followers.

Here’s a breakdown of where we are headed. All sermons will be available on our website and Itunes if you miss it due to vacation.

July 17th: Myth #1- Forgiving Means Forgetting

July 24th: Myth #2- Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

July 31st: Myth #3- God Has a Blueprint For Your Life

August 7th: Myth #4- A Valley Means a Wrong Turn

August 14th: Myth #5- Christians Shouldn’t Judge

August 21st: Myth #6- God Brings Good Luck

In the interest of full disclosure, we got the idea for this series from a seminary friend of Pastor Phil’s, and he got the idea from a book by Larry Osborne called 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe. We’re changing it up quite a bit from the original author did, but we need to give credit where credit is due. Many thanks to Northshore Baptist Church, near Seattle, WA for the idea and the series artwork (which we also tweaked a bit).

As promised, I am posting here the link to either read or listen to the sermon where Pastor John Piper answered this question at length. If you are unfamiliar with Piper, and would like to read more consider picking up his short book Don’t Waste Your Life. Or if you are ready for something a little more difficult, start with his most well known work, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.

Enjoy!

This Sunday Pastor Ed will begin a new series in the New Testament book of Romans. It’s a pretty intense work of theology that calls for careful explanation. With this in mind, we will be here for about a year including a few short breaks for things like Advent, Lent etc. If you’d like to read ahead, you can do so online HERE at the ESV website. (You can listen to it there as well!) If you would like to do some Bible Memorization in the book of Romans, why not try the Bible Memory tool right on the City? (Found under the heading “Growth”.) Don’t have a City Acount? Stop by the Welcome Desk on Sunday to set one up. When you come to Sunday’s worship service having read ahead, you learn more. So, try doing a little advance prep as you seek to understand God’s Word more clearly.

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

St. Paul

First Epistle to Timothy

Chapter 4, Verses 7-10

Discipline. To train or exercise.  That is the word Paul uses. The word used is the same as our English word “gym”.

Paul wrote to Timothy as he pastored in Ephesus. It was a city with stadiums.  Stadiums with athletes. Athletes were then, as now, the object of much fame and envy.  They worked when others rested. They persevered when others quit.  They achieved as others watched.  Those who watched saw the moment on the field, court, or mat.  They saw one great shot, an intense sprint to close distance, or the force of will and muscle to withstand an opponent.  Few saw the hours behind the labor.  We fantasize about the moment of athletic glory, but few daydream on the endless routine of exercise and endurance that precedes it.  As Coach Bobby Knight said, “the will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.”

The hard work of training is not exclusive for world-class athletes.  For any of us who have labored for physical achievement, we know the work behind those words. The alarm goes off in the early hours before school or work, or perhaps when the day is done for most, there is the discipline of exercise for you.  In high school, I was wrestling captain.  That meant I was blessed with the opportunity to run, lift weights, and go to wrestling camp in the summer.  Years later, I have had times when I worked out — and it showed — and sometimes it did not, and a lot more showed.

In time, the body breaks down.  It aches, sickens, and, one day, fails no matter how much we work out. There is a value to being fit.  I have seen many of us at Terra taking diet and exercise more seriously in the last few years.  There is a value to it.  It just is not as valuable as other things. That is not a call to laziness, but rather a call to perspective.  The Bible says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

In the weeks ahead, we will look to the Bible to find the disciplines that have been a part of those saints of God who have excelled in the moments we have seen.  Some are famous men and women of faith, some everyday heroes and mentors.  Like the athlete in the stadium, all who stood strong in their faith, who finished well, who lived godly, also trained with dedication.

The hours of Bible reading, study, and memory; the effort to use the resources of a life to matter for greater things; the seeking, living and speaking of life in Christ as a dedication — those were found on the well-worn pathway to encourage godliness.  There is no guarantee of godliness in simply performing these disciplines.  There is guaranteed failure without them.  We could work mechanically, inconsistently, or with poor motives.  We are commanded to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness, holiness, and Christ-likeness.

Join us as we learn the disciplines of Bible in-take, stewardship, prayer, fasting and silence, evangelism, service and more.  There is nothing more important for which to train.

[series begins July 4th]