Introduction to Apologetics from R. C. Sproul

The topic of Christian Apologetics came up recently in a brief conversation I had with one of our church members. If you’ve spent any time around me, you know that I love Christian apologetics. Simply put, Christian apologetics is giving a reasoned defense of the beliefs of Christianity. As 1 Peter 3:15 tells us, all Christians are called on to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

Today I found on Christian Audio a reading of the first chapter of R. C. Sproul’s book Defending Your Faith. This book is a great introduction to Christian Apologetics; it’s not light reading, but it also communicates in a way that you don’t have to be an expert to understand. In this chapter Sproul (among other things) helpfully defines Christian Apologetics, shows how important apologetics was to the early church, and answers a serious objection often brought against the task of apologetics. The reading is about 15 minutes long, and although to listen to this may take a bit more concentration than listening to the radio or watching your favorite TV show, the intellectual effort will be well worth it!

To download the audio of the first chapter, go here and click on the link “Download the podcast”.

You can also download a text copy (PDF) of the introduction and the first and second chapters of the book here (scroll down to “more information”).

If you’re interested in purchasing the book, the best deal I’ve found online is here (FYI, if you make a purchase of 25 or more with Amazon, shipping is free)

Parenting with Eternity in Mind

As we all know, the Lord has blessed our church with many young children, and we have several more children who within the next year will be born. Our nursery and toddler rooms are busy places on a typical Sunday morning at Poplar Spring!

As a parent of one of these young children, and with another child who’s birthday is estimated at March 11th, I’m thinking a lot these days about parenting. I’m sure that others are as well. With that said, I came across a quote from the great English pastor J. C. Ryle that points to the importance of Godly parenting. While these words were written in the late 1800’s, they still speak with relevance to us today.

I encourage you to read Ryle’s words and apply them to your life. If you are a parent, the application is easy enough. But the truth of Ryle’s words apply also to the Nursery workers, toddler workers, Sunday School teachers, Team Kids teachers, and anyone else who has a role to play in working with our children here at Poplar Spring.

Soul love is the soul of all love. To pet and pamper and indulge your child, as if this world was all he had to look forward to, and this life the only season for happiness—to do this is not true love, but cruelty. It is treating him like some beast of the earth, which has but only one world to look to, and nothing after death. It is hiding from him that grand truth, which he ought to be made to learn from his very infancy,—that the chief end of his life is the salvation of his soul.

 A true Christian must be no slave to fashion, if he would train his child for heaven. He must not be content to do things merely because they are the custom of the world; to teach them and instruct them in certain ways, merely because it is the usual; to allow them to read books of a questionable sort, merely because everybody else reads them; to let them form habits of a doubtful tendency, merely because they are the habits of the day. He must train with an eye to his children’s souls. He must not be ashamed to hear his training called singular and strange. What if it is? The time is short,—the fashion of this world passeth away. He that has trained his children for heaven, rather than for the earth,—for God, rather than for man,—he is the parent that will be called wise at last.

 

= J. C. Ryle, “The Duties of Parents,” in The Upper Room (1888; reprint, London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1990), 290.

Attributes of God #2 – God’s Omnipresence

This is the second post in a series of posts on the “Attributes of God” based on the notes that Pastor Steven has prepared for his Wednesday night messages on the subject of God’s attributes. The first post was on The Immutability of God. Questions? Thoughts? Make sure to post them in the “comments” section below.

God’s Omnipresence

Psalm 139:7-10

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9 If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

 

Literal Meaning of Omnipresence – all-present (The Latin prefix omni means all) 

Working Definition: God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present  at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.

 

1. God is Everywhere

There is no place I can go where God is not already there.

Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 23:23-24

 

2. God’s Presence Means Different Things at Different Places

 

a. God’s Presence Everywhere is Sustaining

For “‘In him we live and move and have our being’ Acts 17:28

Colossians 1:17 – He is before all things and in him all things hold together

Hebrews 1:3 – He continually upholds the universe by the word of his power.

 

b. God’s Presence Is a Blessing

* The Pillar of Cloud & Fire

* The Ark of the Covenant (cf. Exodus 25, 1 Samuel 4:4)

* The Incarnation (cf. Colossians 2:9 – In Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily)

* In Your presence is fullness of joy, in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. – Psalm 16:11

 

c. God’s Presence Is Punishment

 (cf. Psalm 139:7-10; Amos 9:1-4)

 

3. Practical Implications of God’s Omnipresence

a.       God cannot be contained in a building such as a church building

b.      God’s omnipresence means that He is not “way out there” somewhere

c.        While God is everywhere in space, He is distinct from space

d.      Be careful to understand this is an attribute of God alone!

What Am I Supposed to Do as a Participant in Sunday School? – by Pastor Steven

If Sunday School is more than Bible teaching, how can I make the most of my small group? I am glad you asked. Here are a couple of suggestions I want to make to help you get the most out of your Sunday School:

1.       Be Present. For your class to become an intimately related small group of people that depend on one another in this thing we call the walk of life, you must be present. Every member is vital. When you are out your small group is not complete. When you are gone a source of strength, wisdom, encouragement, instruction, and knowledge is gone.

2.       Be Prepared. The Bible is foundational to your Christian growth and your involvement in the lives of the body of Christ. I promise you that you will get more out of the Bible study if you will study the Bible passage and read the material before you come to class on Sunday morning. Take me up on this. I guarantee it will work!

3.       Be Open. The key to being connected with the body of Christ is openness. While we would all like to pretend that we are perfect Christians and do not have struggles we all know that life is difficult and we struggle. Be the one in your class to be vulnerable and let others into your life. You will be amazed at the strength you gain by depending on the body of Christ.

4.       Be Concerned. People can tell when you are not interested in their lives. The sad truth is most people have so many struggles and difficulties that consume them they are not truly interested in other’s struggles. In order for Sunday School to function properly as a place of growth you must be concerned about your fellow Christian and his or her struggle.

5.       Be Sensitive. If your Sunday School class becomes a place where people can really share the struggles of life and depend on one another for strength and encouragement your class will have to be sensitive to the intimate issues that are brought up. In short, keep what is revealed in your small group between you, your small group, and the Lord.

6.       Be Prayerful. There is no one else that we should take our burdens to except the Lord. When you hear of someone else’s triumph or tragedy, take it to the Lord and ask for His intervention and give Him praise!

7.       Be Active. Often you will be made aware of tangible ways that you can benefit others both in your small group and outside of your small group. Involvement will call for acts of service on your part. Be willing to get your hands dirty and help others who are struggling. This will go a long way to developing the kind of atmosphere that will allow you to grow close as a small group.

8.       Be Growing. The purpose of your small group is to see Christ glorified through the growth of Christians and the salvation of the lost. You must be actively growing in your walk with Christ and use your giftedness to encourage, train, and strengthen others in their walk with Christ. 

9.       Be Evangelistic. As you see the grace of God transform your life and the lives of those in your Sunday School class begin to think about those in your life that need this message of hope. Look for opportunities to invite people who need to hear the gospel to your class meetings. Build intentional relationships at the table (home), the mailbox (neighborhood), the water cooler (work), the checkout (marketplace), and the seat (entertainment venues). Pray for these people and be a living example of the grace of God before them. Be a Great Commission Christian (Matt 28:19-20)!

Your Sunday School teacher may want to add some more suggestions to this list. It is by no means meant to be exhaustive. Rather, it is just a starting point for us to develop Sunday School groups that accomplish our biblical mandate of growth as a body of Christ.

 Brothers and sisters, we have been called to be a body of Christ together. In order to do so we must be concerned about one another and involved in one another’s lives. It will take every one of us together to make a healthy body. We need you! If you are involved in a Sunday School class, praise the Lord! Would you consider going deeper in your relationship with your class? Which of the suggestions above could you work on? If you are not involved in a Sunday School class, would you consider being a part of one this Sunday? The life and ministry of Poplar Spring depends on you!