Luke

The Luke "Main Points by Chapter" list is now complete
http://epcsermon.blogspot.com/2005/09/luke-morning-worship-summaries.html

Deuteronomy

We begin the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy tomorrow in morning worship and will continue with one chapter per day for the next 34 days. "Haven't you ever had a hankering to come to morning worship?" - Connie Phelps

Letter from Candy - Commit to Care

Dear Friends:

The deacons of EPC have approved an outreach program to show mercy to those in the Exeter area who are lonely and widowed. The Commitment to Care program would match EPC members and families with those from within our greater community who would need and desire some fellowship and care.

God sets the lonely in families… Psalm 68:6

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble…. James 1:27a

He has shown you, O man, what is good: And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

The idea is simple: we would solicit names of elderly people, and, with their permission, establish a relationship between them and some in our midst who would desire to reach out and love them. The requirements on the part of the family would be one phone call per week, and one visit per week. There are some within our congregation who already do this – in the form of nursing home services, or in providing transportation to church services for those who couldn’t otherwise attend.

This can be a great outreach to our community. We have some idea of what other churches are doing in their ministry areas, and we don’t believe anyone has specifically targeted visitation to the elderly.

At this point, we are conducting a survey to see if any within our congregation would be interested in participating in this ministry. If so, please contact me by phone (772-9442, or 686-1060), or by e-mail (candymagee@copper.net), or speak with me any Sunday after worship. I would be happy to answer any questions that you might have regarding this new area of ministry.

Every blessing,
Candy Magee

Thinking About God?

(This will appear soon in The Carriagetown News. I also sent it to The Exeter Newsletter.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 26, 2005
TITLE: "Thinking About God?"

Are you thinking more about God this year than last year, but are not quite sure what to do about it? Do you want to know what the Bible teaches about life, but don't know whether you want to attend church? Pastor Steve Magee of Exeter Presbyterian Church announces openings for weekly meetings with inquiring individuals, couples, and families seeking spiritual guidance and personal religious instruction. Rev. Magee meets regularly with people in the Exeter area, counseling and coaching people from the worldview of traditional Christianity. The first few sessions normally begin with the short classic, Truth for All Time, written in the 16th century by John Calvin. There is no charge for this service. Those interested in investigating should call (603) 772-7479, or visit Pastor Magee’s site on the web at http://www.epcblog.blogspot.com/

Contact:
PASTOR STEVE MAGEE
EXETER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
pastor@exeterpca.org
PO BOX 715, EXETER, NH 03833
(603) 772-7479

New Column

I wrote this column for Dave Corbin's website.
http://www.johnstarkreview.com/archives/2005/09/its_not_about_y.htm

Final Sermon in Acts 2 Series

The Blessings of an "Extended Family" Congregation
The Lord’s Church
Four Expository Sermons on Acts 2:36-47

MESSAGE FOUR: The Visible Church as the Place of Salvation

Acts 2:47 … And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Introduction: What Troubles the Redeemed Heart?

EXPOSITION
Fact: People were being "saved" every day.

What does it mean to be saved?

Who saves us?

What does added "to the number" mean?

POINT: We do all need to be saved, and those who are being saved by the Lord are added to the worshipping visible church.

APPLICATIONS:
Have you been saved?

Do you have compassion for those who are like sheep without a shepherd?

Conclusion: Will the door always be open?

more...

Praying for our friends in East Texas

Received from Rachel this afternoon...
Matt

-----Original Message-----
From: Rachel Painter
Friday, September 23, 2005 2:41 PM
Subject: Hurricane headed this way...

Dear Friends,

Please pray as it looks like Hurricane Rita may come straight through East Texas after making landfall tonight. If the hurricane continues at it's current strength and path we could be looking at 2-3 days of rain, 30-70 mph winds, and one forecaster said 25 inches of rain.

1. Pray that the hurricane's strength will decrease before making landfall in the Houston area tonight. Pray that the winds would even decrease below 100 mph before hitting land.
2. Pray that God will give the people in the hurricane's path wisdom on how to prepare and keep their families safe.
3. Pray for all the people in Houston who are stranded because the freeways are gridlocked and their cars have run out of gas. Pray that they would havea safe place to go to ride out the storm and that God would miraculously provide food and water for them which is now becoming scarce.
4. Pray that the loss of life and property would be minimal where ever the hurricane goes.
5. Pray that our property (our house in particular) would be protected from flooding, and trees falling. There is a creek at the base of our property sopray that God would protect from any water damage. The property and house where we are living is on a hill, so it would be protected from flood waters. The house down the road that we have been working to fix up and sellwould be more susceptible. Pray God's protection over it.
6. Pray for wisdom for us as we try to determine the safest place for the grandparents.
7. Pray that if the hurricane does change course that the people in it's path might be protected as they wouldn't have known to prepare for the storm.
8. Pray that God will protect His people and that He would even bring great blessing from this.Thank you for your prayers. I'll try to let you know how we fare. We are trying to prepare things now - boarding up windows that may leak, bringing in anything from outside that may blow away, and we may even try to sandbag some low areas down at the big house and at my Grandfather's house that might flood easily, etc. Thank you for your prayers for us and all the people in the path of the storm.

Blessings to you all,
Rachel

Theological Humility

For the hearty, you may want to note the article on the Reformation21 site on the emergent church. http://www.reformation21.org/Front_Desk/September_2005_Feature_/82/ The author, a professor of Church History from Westminster Seminary, makes the case that the new church leaders who are committed to a more "generous orthodoxy" do not rightly understand the great theologians of the 16th and 17th century. Emergent church writers have tended to label them as "moderns" who used reason as their chief guide. The author contends that this is a big mistake based on a superficial examination. Instead, they were pre-modern thinkers who knew how to rightly use reason as a tool, but were completely committed to the Sola Scriptura position. Here’s the author’s concluding paragraph:

"What’s emerging in the church? According to many Emergent leaders, something old and new. But without accurately understanding the old, the new lacks the rigor and depth which can only be achieved through years of testing and refinement. Meeting the challenges of our contemporary culture is not an easy task. We must have the humility to admit that we cannot meet this challenge alone. Thankfully we are not historically isolated. We have a rich history of theological reflections and writings from which to draw from."

I see myself as a guardian of a historical tradition (the Reformed tradition), particularly as that tradition is expressed in the Westminster Standards. I have come to see that tradition as the most biblical explanation of the doctrines and commands of the Bible. It is also quite important to me that these standards are the standards of our churches. They are not mine alone, and I would be foolish to think that my own opinion on any one point would be enough to overturn the authority of these statements for the life of the church. We must be careful in thinking that we are smarter than we are, and thereby making sweeping accusations against the conclusions of former generations who were also committed to the authority of the Bible.

Welcome to the Family of God - the Visible Church

The Blessings of an "Extended Family" Congregation
The Lord’s Church
Four Expository Sermons on Acts 2:36-47
Message III. The Visible Church as the House and Family of God

Question: Is the WCF biblically right in calling the visible church the house and family of God?

PASSAGE
Acts 2:44-47a 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people….

EXPOSITION
A Common Life (44-45)
A Daily Life (46-47)
A Public Life (47)

POINT: The Visible Church is the House and Family of God.

APPLICATIONS:
1. To live as a child of God is the privilege and duty of everyone in our Father’s house.
2. The daily life of communal Christianity needs to be recaptured in our isolated world.
3. Welcome to the family of God – the Visible Church.

more

Morning Worship Update - Luke

11. Let us ask, seek, and knock with much prayer, that the Father and the Son would send forth the Spirit, and that we might hear the Word of God and keep it.
12. There is much good news and encouragement from God for those who love the Lord and who hope in the kingdom of heaven.
13. Jesus has made Himself the one door to life for us. He will perish in Jerusalem, that the new "Jerusalem" will repent and live.
14. The kingdom of life moves forward. We who have ears to hear the word of the Lord follow Him in viewing the kingdom rightly.
15. We are the children of a God who seeks and saves the lost.

Home Again

Candy and I spent Friday and Saturday morning with our good friends Paul and Donna Munro. Paul is the pastor of Owls Head Baptist Church http://www.midcoast.com/~ohbc/ in Owls Head, Maine. We were neighbors at seminary and have maintained a very close friendship over the years. Now we make a point of getting together every quarter. I thank God for the blessing of friendships that span many years.


By the way, speaking of the blessing of people in our lives, if you know Candy's mom and dad, you may enjoy Chet's new blog, www.allaboutchet.blogspot.com. He is posting some neat pictures from the 50s and 60s including a shot of Candy and her brother Chet studying intently...

Our Friends in France

From Jamie and Jackie Gildard - selections

"Great answer to prayer: While we were visiting supporting churches in the South this summer, The Lord raised enough support to get us back to Marseille!! "

"Jamie's right foot, injured in April (injured tendon on the ball of his foot), was treated with medication and an orthopedic boot. We have not seen much improvement, though it is now mid-September. This creates difficulty in nearly all of his missions responsibilities, and hinders his ability to get around downtown for visas, car registration, etc. (all of which requires walking more than a hundred yards). Jamie also needs to walk the kids to school, take them to the park or go for a walk with Jacki - these all fall on Jacki alone now. Please pray that our Lord would heal Jamie's foot."

[Pray for visitors and friends who are interested in faith, and for the selection of church leaders.]

"Please pray for our family as we restart our ministry activities, school, and life in Marseille. "

"We are very thankful for your prayers."

"In Christ's service,
Jamie"

Check out 1 minute newsman link on right

Includes briefest notes on national, presbytery, and church news

The Susters and Ciuchis

This is one of the families that we pray for every day. Costin and Alina brought the Ciuchis into their home in 2001 after the US embassy determined that the Romanian young people would not be allowed to come to the United States to attend school in Exeter. Since then the Susters have had two additional children. God has done amazing things through this family.

A Matter of Some Concern

Doug Domin preached at Andy Wilson's installation service in Laconia yesterday afternoon. He did a great job, and I'll post later concerning his message, but there was a matter of some concern that I wanted to note. Doug's brother has become a Yankees fan... Things like this do happen, but who of us can really say that we understand?

LATER IN THE DAY... On Doug's message from Habakkuk 1 yesterday, I found myself quite struck by the thought that I need to have humility and meekness before God in the midst of trial. I am not sure we are often able to figure out what God is doing through particular trials, but we do know that "the just (God's people) shall live by faith."

The Visible Church - a Kingdom

Is the visible church the kingdom of Jesus Christ, or something less than that?

What is the connection between what we believe about Jesus and how we think about the minstry of His church?

LAST SUNDAY’S PASSAGE
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

more

God's Glory First

The importance of the topic of the ordering of God's plans is this. It reveals to us the Lord's goals. Those who love the Lord, care about His goals. This is what I believe the Scripture teaches:

1. The ultimate end of all of God's plans is His own glory. Anything less than this would be horribly wrong.

2. God has determined that the greatest glory to Him will come from the display of both His mercy and His justice. (Romans 9:22-24)

3. Therefore the Lord planned all the means necessary in order to bring about this plan: election, creation, the fall, salvation through a substitute, sprititual growth, heavenly glory, etc.

These things settle my heart.

Hong Key Picture

Received a very informative e-mail from Hong Key Chung today. He is sponsoring another conference on Calvinism and Society in Romania. Please pray for him, specifically that the Lord would provide an additional $2000 which is apparently necessary for the conference to happen. He is pictured here in Korea with a Romanian political leader that we met with in Bucharest during our Presbytery trip last February.

Morning Worship - Luke

This morning we completed two weeks of morning worship in Luke’s gospel. We do 1 chapter every morning. At the end of the message, I summarize the chapter in one brief remark. Here are those summary remarks for Luke’s gospel:

http://epcsermon.blogspot.com/2005/09/luke-morning-worship-summaries.html

Family Pictures from Wedding

Here are some family photos from Katie's wedding- Candy just asked me, "Is this going to be one of those 'It's-all-about-me' blogs?" Hmmh... Don't forget - Ionel asked to see these...

the preacher

Something New Among Our Baptist Friends

Bethlehem Baptist (home of John Piper) is moving toward accepting Presbyterians as members. Read about this development and commentary from Phil Ryken on the Reformation 21 link below, under the title "Some of my best friends are baptists."
http://www.reformation21.org/Reformation_21_Blog/57/

PCA Hurricane Updates

click above for daily information

Soccer starts today

If you would like to play a fun family game of soccer, join us at 3:45 ish at Gilman Park in Exeter every Thursday in September and October. This activity is sponsored by Exeter Classical Christian School.

Some pictures Ionel asked to see

(Left) This is where our church meets at 73 Winter Street in Exeter.








(Below) This is our new house when we first saw it last February. We moved in during July, but have net yet sold our old house.









I'll ask Katie for a picture of our family from her wedding, and then post that.

Short Video of Hurricane Damage in Gulfport

Note from Dominic Aquila, Editor
Byfaithonline Newsletter

Watch a short video on Hurricane Katrina's damage in Gulfport, Miss. (it even shows the alligator shot in First Presbyterian's fellowship hall). Go to www.onionringsstudios.com/Videos/Katrina.wmv

Ionel's Birthday Today

In addition to being our 25th anniversary (see earlier post), today is also Ionel's birthday (our friend in Romania - the tallest boy in this picture of the Szuroka siblings from my last visit in February '05). He seems to be doing very well. I sent him a Happy Birthday e-mail, and he just wrote back with greetings to each member of our family. By the way, Monica (center) will be going to the University of Baia Mare this year. I have not heard from her in a while. You can continue to keep the whole Szuroka family in your prayers. Ionel is pursuing special Bible School curriculum at his church. He and Mihai (lower right) were apparently baptized earlier this year. The youngest two (on the left) are Vasile and Elena.

25 years of bliss

Candy and I have been married for 25 years today. Thank you God for such a wonderful wife.

Sunday's Sermon (Acts 2:36-41)

The Blessings of an "Extended Family" Congregation
The Lord’s Church
Four Expository Sermons on Acts 2:36-47
With Particular Applications for Smaller Congregations

SERMON ONE: The Identity and Destiny of the Visible Church

Introduction: An average American church in today’s missionary environment

I frequently take some time in September to consider together with you where we are as a church, and where we seem to be going.

I recently read a newspaper headline with these words: "Religion takes a back seat in Western Europe." The picture below the headline showed the inside of a big cathedral in some European city with a small number of worshippers, mostly elderly women. A story like that always catches my eye because missionaries serving in Europe have told me that their situation in France or England is similar to ours here in the Northeast, where we are pretty well aware that we are not exactly the buckle of the Bible belt...
www.epcsermon.blogspot.com

First Post

Dear Ones,

I have started this page to share some ideas with you. I'll post sermons here, and links to other things that may be of interest.

God is with us.

Every Blessing