Worship has two goals. Does your church meet both? 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 (NIV) 26  What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 27  If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28  If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God. 29  Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30  And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31  For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32  The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33  For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   32: The Order and Discipline of the Church We also believe that although it is useful and good for those who govern the churches to establish and set up a certain order among themselves for maintaining the body of the church, they ought always to guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us. Therefore we reject all human innovations and all laws imposed on us, in our worship of God, which bind and force our consciences in any way. So we accept only what is proper to maintain harmony and unity and to keep all in obedience to God. To that end excommunication, with all it involves, according to the Word of God, is required. Summary Nobody could ever say that going to church in first century Corinth was boring! A few chapters earlier, Paul had scolded them about their communion meals which had turned into drunken feasts . Here he describes their worship services, which sound like a free for all; whatever happened to spring into a congregants' mind immediately spewed out of their mouths, be it a song, a supposed word from the Lord, or even an unintelligible utterance nobody could interpret. It would be bad enough to have just a couple of people acting this way, but the way Paul describes it, everyone was in on it. What a cacophony! Again we're reminded how grateful we are for these Corinthians louts, for if they hadn't first stumbled and fell on these various matters, we certainly would (and often still do!). It's in addressing this chaotic mess that Paul lays down for us a bedrock principle of corporate worship. Our worship services must be crafted and conducted with two complementary goals in mind. First, certainly they must bring honor and glory to the Lord. After all, He's the One being worshipped! But secondly, and no less importantly, our worship services must build the church up. If an element in our services doesn't simultaneously meet these two ends, it ought not be included. Dig Deeper Maybe you're feeling a bit left out as a member of a Reformed church at this point. After all, when's the last time someone spoke in tongues or stood up and delivered a new revelation from the Lord at one of our services? One of our emphases these last few weeks is that the hallmark of Reformed theology and church polity is that our churches strive to do everything as Biblically as possible. Yet here's some straight up Biblical teaching about tongues and revelation and we seem to gently set it to the side. It's good to remember here that the book of Acts unfolds over a matter of years, and the various epistles span decades (this first letter to the Corinthians was likely Paul's first epistle). As we look at the New Testament as a whole, we can see an evolution moving from extraordinary acts of the Spirit, such as tongues and healings, to more ordinary means like preaching and sacraments supervised by pastors, elders and deacons. But rest assured you're not missing out on anything. The Holy Spirit is just as active now in the songs we sing and the sermon that's proclaimed as what He was in that early Corinthian church. As Paul reminded both them and us, God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is a God of order and peace; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your church's worship would be pleasing and acceptable to God, AND that it will build up your congregation; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 8

Remember, you're the pot, not the potter. Isaiah 29:13-16 (NIV) 13  The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. 14  Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” 15  Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” 16  You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   32: The Order and Discipline of the Church We also believe that although it is useful and good for those who govern the churches to establish and set up a certain order among themselves for maintaining the body of the church, they ought always to guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us. Therefore we reject all human innovations and all laws imposed on us, in our worship of God, which bind and force our consciences in any way. So we accept only what is proper to maintain harmony and unity and to keep all in obedience to God. To that end excommunication, with all it involves, according to the Word of God, is required. Summary One commentator put it this way when describing the situation the LORD spoke into here in Isaiah 29: "Religion remained, but the reality had perished." Israelite society, designed to be centered around the worship of God, had become a mere façade. The right words were still muttered on their lips, but their hearts were nowhere to be found. The LORD provides an analogy to explain the upside down situation resulting from replacing God given principles and practices with worship based merely on human rules . He compares it to the pot rejecting the potter as it could form itself into the image it desires for itself, rather than what the potter intended for it. If you asked people at random what attributes they associate with God, you'd likely hear lots of answers related to peace, love and kindness. And those attributes definitely describe who God is! But those aren't the attributes God reveals about Himself in this passage. Here we read of His wrath which will be poured out to bring woe to these pretenders who think they can fool God by just going through the religious motions. What's surprising about the target of God's wrath here is that they wouldn't otherwise fit the profile of those that deserve God's wrath. In all other aspects of life, they were probably decent people. So notice how seriously God takes hypocritical worship! Dig Deeper Our Confession helps us understand what it means to adhere to the Regulative Principle of Worship, because there are two aspects to it. Most Protestant churches get the first part right by not doing anything in our formal worship (or even lives, for that matter) that directly contradicts God's law. In other words, you're not likely to see flagrant violations like golden calves. But true Biblical worship must be more than just not violating God's commands. In passages like today's, we see that God is not interested in our improvements to His design for worship. This is why Reformed churches adhere to both aspects of the Regulative Principle. We don't just do not do what God forbids in worship, we don't do anything that God doesn't command either. The abundance of negatives in that statement makes it hard to understand. More positively, we worship God the way He's commanded in His Word without adding "human innovations" to it. But as the LORD reminds us today from Isaiah, even the purest Biblical worship service is a farce if the worshippers are simply going through the motions. God demands that your worship be more than just checking boxes and guarding from errors. He wants you to worship Him with all of your heart, mind and strength. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who formed us as a master potter forms clay; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your worship will be both orderly and sincere; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 7

Both you and the Church must be continually reformed to align with God's Word. 1 Timothy 3:14-16 (NIV) 14  Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15  if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16  Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   32: The Order and Discipline of the Church We also believe that although it is useful and good for those who govern the churches to establish and set up a certain order among themselves for maintaining the body of the church, they ought always to guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us. Therefore we reject all human innovations and all laws imposed on us, in our worship of God, which bind and force our consciences in any way. So we accept only what is proper to maintain harmony and unity and to keep all in obedience to God. To that end excommunication, with all it involves, according to the Word of God, is required. Summary What is plentiful is not precious. So goes an old Latin proverb. For those of us in SW Minnesota & NW Iowa, we weren't considering water very precious this past June when our communities were being inundated by it. But now after a super dry fall, just a few drops of rain would have tremendous value. So image how valuable Paul's letters were to young Pastor Timothy. He didn't have a bookshelf full of theology or the latest books on achieving church growth. He couldn't quickly consult a few youtubes to see how others solved a problem or fixed something broken in the church. Although he would have known the Old Testament well, he certainly wouldn't even have had his own copy of that! Obviously he couldn't just quick call or text Paul when a question or concern came up either. So when a letter from Paul arrived, whether it was written to Timothy, Titus or any of the other letters Paul wrote, people would pour over it, soaking in every precious syllable. And here in the third chapter of the first letter he wrote to Timothy, Paul explains exactly why it is he wrote all of the letters he did: so that we will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Dig Deeper Speaking of old Latin phrases, the hallmark of the Protestant churches for the last 500 years has been Semper Reformanda! Literally translated, it means the Church is always being reformed. So in a sense, the Protestant Reformation that began when Luther nailed his theses to the castle door won't come to an end until Christ comes back. For some, this means that the Church is a blank canvas, just waiting for each new generation to reform it with color and structure as it sees fit. Since society and culture continually change shape, the Church ought to as well in order to continually be well positioned to meet society's shifting needs. Such an attitude might have seemed really attractive to Pastor Timothy! After all, Paul had founded his Ephesian church and then left Timothy in charge, but like everything else, the situation and needs changed. Maybe Timothy should 'reform' the church as he and the current crop of elders saw fit? Of course not. But this continual temptation we have to reshape the Church according to our own whims needs to be met with the full version of that old Latin battle cry: ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda (the church reformed, always reforming). What this means is that the Protestant church has been reformed according to scripture, so our task is to continually keep it conformed to the Word once delivered! Today the Bible is plentiful. You have the blessing of (likely) having multiple copies of the Bible in your home, not to mention a choice of Bible apps with massively powerful searching & study tools built in that you can utilize wherever you happen to be. But the ironic thing is that the more plentiful God's Word has become, the less precious it seems. Don't let this happen to you! Prioritize being continually reformed in His Word on a daily basis so that you know how to conduct yourself as a member of God's household, the church of the living God. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, the pillar and foundation of the truth; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that through the Spirit God's Word will remain precious to you and that it will guide you and the Lord's Church; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 6

Godly leaders 'put you in your place.' What a blessing! 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 (NIV) 12  Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care [ lit: watch over] for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13  Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14  And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting Summary As is often the case with the epistles (letters) Paul wrote to the various churches, he begins the conclusion with a litany of imperatives for his readers. The first thing he instructs as he closes this first letter to the Thessalonians is for them to acknowledge - literally, to know - those who work hard among you . Those of you who participate in our Bible reading plan tend to be really hard workers, so it's good to see once again how much the Bible values hard work. But Paul is signaling out a particular kind of hard work here, the kind done by those who care for you in the Lord . But once again, Paul has a very particular type of caregiver in mind here. The NET Bible probably translates this the best: Paul wants us to acknowledge those who... preside over you in the Lord . In other words, you must know your hard working pastors, elders and deacons well. After all, these are the men tasked with admonishing you . Quite literally, these guys have been tasked by the Lord to put you in your place . Often times this involves lifting you up and reminding you of your infinite value as a redeemed image bearer of God; other times they may need to knock you down a peg or two to remind you of your reliance on Christ, not your own abilities. Paul gives a whole list of ways that you can acknowledge their leadership. Do this by living in peace with each other; by encouraging the disheartened, helping the weak and being patient with everyone. Paul summarizes all of this in a way that's easy to memorize: always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Dig Deeper The last couple of decades have seen an increase in folks who make a fine living amplifying what can go wrong in 'intersectional power dynamics.' They see the world through a lens where those in power will always abuse those underneath them. The rich will always exploit the poor, men will always abuse women, and the dominant race will always subdue minority races. The author of these critical philosophies, Karl Marx, described it as the bourgeoisie , who control the means of production, always taking advantage of the proletariat working class. As is the case with nearly every social movement, this one has also crept its way into the Church. In general, most people now have a greatly diminished trust in those who preside over them than previous generations did. People are now much quicker to label any unpopular decision their church council makes as an 'abuse of power.' Unfortunately, these attitudes are not without warrant. We all know of situations where God given power and authority was twisted and abused to hurt the very sheep that should have been cared for and protected. Such situations are sad and horrible, and implementing common sense church policies and procedures to prevent this type of abuse is wise. These last couple of weeks as we've looked at God's design for church leadership, we've noted several times that pastors, elders and deacons do not operate with absolute authority or impunity - they must be at all times subject to the Lord and operate within the parameters and instructions He's given in His Word. We've also read several times that they will be held to a higher standard when they stand before God's judgment seat. But we've also seen that those under them in the church must respectfully hold their leaders accountable to God's Word as well. This means that the better you know what the Bible says, the better you will be able to keep yourself safe from abuse and the better you will be able to properly acknowledge and submit to Godly leadership. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who places godly leaders over the flock He loves dearly; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will know your Bible well so you can know your leaders well and recognize & submit to their admonishment . A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 5

Wives submit to husbands, as all Christians submit to Christ. Ephesians 5:21-27 (NIV) 21  Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting Summary Today's passage isn't popular in many corners of society today. The idea of women being subjugated to men seems cruel, old fashioned, and even barbaric to many. In their minds, the sort of submission Paul commands wives to give their husbands is the gateway for men to abuse women and be Biblically justified for doing so. But of course that's not at all what Paul - nor the Holy Spirit who speaks through Paul - intends. One of the things we teach young couples in pre-marriage counseling is that God didn't create the institution of marriage just in order to provide the companionship that men & women were created for, but also to give us a picture of how Christ loves us (the Church is often referred to as the bride of Christ) and how we must submit to Him. So wives are commanded to submit themselves to their own husbands not because they husbands are men, but because in doing so they are actually submitting themselves to the Lord . This means that wives are under no compulsion to submit themselves to anything that is sinful or ungodly, since one cannot submit to sin and the Lord simultaneously. The tougher command in this passage is given to men, to love their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ... How could any man ever hope to match such self-sacrificial love? In giving Himself up for His bride, Christ has presented us to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Dig Deeper Maybe you're wondering why it is we're focusing on God's design for how husbands and wives relate to one another in the midst of our broader discussion of church polity (governance) these past couple of weeks. First of all, today's passage reminds us that polity isn't the dull, boring and sometimes seemingly irrelevant topic that so many Christians often think of it as. If the Church is the bride of Christ, then the process of governing the Church ought to reflect the same level of excitement, love and genuine care that one would expect to see in the most passionate of romances. If you're a minister, elder or deacon and you're not experiencing this as you oversee your little corner of the Church, make it a priority to figure out what's wrong and fix it! Secondly, we're all called to submit ourselves to properly ordained leadership in the same way wives are commanded to submit themselves to godly husbands. As our Confession reminds us, hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting. As we've seen often these last couple of weeks, you are never commanded to blind obedience in any sphere of life - either in marriage or the Church. You must continually hold your spouse and church leaders accountable to scripture, and stand against anything unbiblical using the prescribed means. But also recognize, that even like the always imperfect love of the godliest husband, your imperfect church leaders strive to love you in the way that Christ loves us and to build you up in Him. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who dearly loves the bride of His perfect Son; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the polity in your church will reflect the self sacrificial love and passion of our Savior; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 4

Stand firm in your faith, but work as equals with Christians who disagree. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (NIV) 2:16 ...But we have the mind of Christ. 3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 5  What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8  The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9  For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting Summary Once again we turn our attention to that hapless Corinthian church, not just to gawk at their ineptness & immaturity as Paul exposes it, but because in them we see such a pure reflection of ourselves. We're grateful for these epistles (letters) that Paul sent them, because if we were unable to read these corrections, we would certainly make the same mistakes the Corinthians did. Paul doesn't mince words, calling them mere infants who can't handle solid food. He's not trying to insult them, rather reminding them (and us) that as people who've been given the mind of Christ, our Father has high expectations for us. A little child can't make himself grow - God works that miracle - but at the same time, a child who doesn't let go of childish toys and food won't grow in the way God intends. So it is with the Church; God miraculously grants the growth, but we must let go of childish ways and step into that growth. One of the Corinthians' hangups was the tribalism they'd fallen into. Some were in the Apollos' tribe, while others considered themselves 'Paulists.' But Paul reminded them that both he and Apollos (an early evangelist we know little about) had equal status as ministers of the Word. Although they each had different tasks - Paul planted the seed and Apollos watered it - they both were nothing more that servants of the one and only head of the Church. Paul writes, we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. Dig Deeper When our confession was written nearly five centuries ago, the line we're focusing on today was written as a polemic (argument) against the hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope, of course, was at the top, and under him were cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and finally priests. This system is still practiced in churches that have an episcopal style of church polity (governance). But the Reformers were not advocating for a system in which each individual minister could do and teach as he pleased, since other ministers were simply equal co-workers and servants who had no authority over one another. Reformed churches organized into a presbyterian polity in which each congregation and its officers (ministers, elders & deacons) placed themselves in mutual submission to other congregations governed by a church order . For most of us, this is all interesting trivia, but may not be a top shelf issue in your daily life. But today's passage still has relevance, since the tribalism the Corinthians fell victim to is very much alive and well in our own day and age. Some Christians are Calvinists, and others Wesleyan. Some defend the faith from a presuppositional standpoint, while others favor an evidentialist approach. Some are conservative Republicans, while others are liberal Democrats. These distinctions are slightly different than what Paul addressed, since there are real and important distinctives between these positions. It's not wrong to stand for Biblical truth alongside like minded people in all of life's various spheres, but your ultimate identity must be that of a co-worker in God's service . AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who makes all things - especially His Church - grow; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be able hold to important distinctives even as you consider yourself a co-worker in God's service with those who view things differently; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 3

You're commanded to eagerly desire greater gifts to serve Christ's Church! 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 (NIV) CONTEXT: Paul just introduced the body as an analogy for the Church. Just as a body has multiple parts, and each part has a unique purpose, so the Church has different roles, all of which are important. Since God has created you to be what you are, you should eagerly play that role. 27  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28  And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30  Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31  Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting Summary One of the first things that must be understood about the Church is that it always has been and always will be spoken of in corporate terms. In fact, the word corporate means 'body,' which is what Paul is comparing the Church to. Too often people want to think of the Church as multiple single cell organisms in which they can live and act independently, but the Bible never presents it that way. On one hand, all Christians are a part of the body of Christ, and all share in the equal dignity that being part of this body entails. We both literally and figuratively rise and fall together, as one. But on the other hand, bodies have an ordered hierarchy to their parts. Both your pinky toe and the frontal lobes of your brain are important parts of your body, but you're not going to make major decisions based only on your pinky toe's opinion of the matter. In the same way, there is an ordered hierarchy in the Church. God has placed first of all the apostles... These twelve men, who had spent years with Jesus and witnessed His death and resurrection, had the primary authority in the early Church. Then s econd came prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. All of these gifts were unique and useful in their own way, but it's good to know important decisions were not made based only on a utterance of 'tongues' that may or may not have been understood or interpreted correctly! If that list of Church 'body parts' seems odd to you, it's because in a very real sense, the Church has 'evolved' and no longer needs apostles, prophets, miracles, healing or tongues. As the book of Acts unfolds, it tells the story of how church leadership transitioned from supernatural giftings to the offices of pastor, elder and deacon that still lead Christ's body on earth today. Dig Deeper You're likely reading this in the midst of another election season, both politically and in many churches who often elect new elders and deacons near the end of the year. Political candidates can often be described by one word: ambition. Millions of dollars are spent and countless yard signs advocating particular candidates and other ads clog the landscape and airwaves. It's no wonder the American Founding Fathers deplored ambitious politicians who just wanted power. Compare the massively over ambitious political candidates with the 'candidates' who get nominated for office in your church. You go from one unhealthy end of the ambition scale way to the other end! It's almost unheard of for an elder or deacon to campaign for their election! In fact, if there's any campaigning being done, it's done by those who've been nominated trying to get their name off the ballot! Now certainly we don't want to learn lessons from our political counterparts about how to run for church office. We don't want to be met with 'Vote Bob for Elder' signs in the church parking lot or have the after service cookies sponsored by Rick's deacon campaign. But certainly there's room between no ambition and over ambition! After spending several paragraphs instructing individual Christians to be content with their particular gifts and location in the body, Paul counters this message with the very last verse: Now eagerly desire the greater gifts ('desire' literally means to seek for and strive after). In other words, show some ambition to serve the church in increasingly important roles, and then be grateful for however God chooses to use you in His service. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who places in the Church people He's gifted in a myriad of valuable ways; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you would eagerly desire greater gifts and that you'll have the ambition to do the hard work required to attain those gifts; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 2

Sometimes God commands us to do exciting work in boring ways. Acts 1:21-26 (NIV) CONTEXT: The very first thing the brand new Church did once Jesus ascended into heaven was to call a meeting so that another apostle could be appointed to replace Judas, who betrayed Christ and later killed himself. We join into this meeting as Peter speaks to the group: 21  Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22  beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” 23  So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24  Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25  to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26  Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. -- Acts 6:3-6 (NIV) CONTEXT: This is a portion of the text we read last week in which the office of deacon was added to the Church. 3  Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4  and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5  This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6  They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting Summary The first chapter of Acts doesn't unfold the way the disciples would have liked. In their minds, after conquering death, Jesus would rise up and restore Israel to earthly greatness and glory.  But instead, He suddenly and surprisingly ascended into heaven. But He didn't leave them empty handed; He promised them that the Holy Spirit would be given to them, and two men dressed in white promised them that Jesus would some day return the same way He had just left. The disciples had certainly heard of the Holy Spirit, but so much of what they'd learned about Him came in those last few hours before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, and they really didn't yet understand what it meant. But it did involve power of some sort, so perhaps they'd be endowed with super-human abilities and Spiritual armor before being sent out to rescue God's people. But that's not what happened either. Instead, they did the most boring thing possible. They called a meeting. Jesus had appointed twelve disciples, and at this point in history, that number was important to maintain. Judas needed to be replaced. But Peter, who's never been afraid to take bold steps, and who certainly asserts that Jesus gave him authority, doesn't grab the power but instead opens the floor to nominations of qualified men to join the apostles. Then instead of making the pick himself, he led in prayer and then the group cast lots to determine who would fill the open position. Dig Deeper One of the tricky things about interpreting the book of Acts is determining whether a passage is descriptive or prescriptive . In other words, does Luke merely describe the event as it occured, or are we being given binding instruction here to always determine leaders by casting lots? We don't need to read far in Acts to see that casting lots isn't the only way leaders were appointed. Notice that when the first group of deacons were named, the exact mechanism the church employed isn't mentioned. Was it just the first seven guys they found who were full of the Spirit and wisdom, or were those seven somehow whittled down from a larger group? Luke doesn't say. But what is clear in each passage is that both decisions were made through some sort of broad deliberative process. It wasn't just a supreme leader or exclusive council who made appointments on a whim. The whole church was involved. One of our biggest distinctives as Reformed churches is that we seek to do all things Biblically. Sometimes the Biblical instruction is clear and defined, such as the words we use while baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Other times we're given more discretion. One church might appoint elders and deacons by lifting qualified names out of a hat, while others utilize a congregational election, yet both methods would be considered Biblical. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls His church to do its work in an orderly fashion; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church, which is called to do the exciting work of the Kingdom of God through sometimes boring means like meetings; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 1

What are the boys & young men in your life aspiring to? 1 Timothy 3:1-13 - (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer [elder] desires a noble task. 2  Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3  not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4  He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5  (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6  He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7  He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 8  In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9  They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10  They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11  In the same way, the women [the wives of deacons] are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12  A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13  Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. Summary Paul sets the bar high for those who serve the church: they must be above reproach . Chances are you haven't used the word 'reproach' lately, so take a moment and let its impact sink in a bit. It means that nobody anywhere can bring any sort of criticism and make it stick. Paul then goes on to list a few examples of what an un-reproachable life looks like: marital faithfulness and good family management, level headedness, respected by the community, not a heavy drinker, gentle and generous, just to name a few. Notice that almost all of the attributes Paul lists for elders and deacons are character based. He only lists two skills. First, an elder must be able to teach . Teaching isn't just limited to standing before a group of people and presenting facts. Teaching also includes living in a close relationship with church members where one to one discipling happens regularly. The other skill Paul lists is for deacons: they must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience . Just like we learned yesterday , deacons must have a strong theological understanding so that they can apply gospel truth to the physical needs church members have. Dig Deeper Two things jump out at me from today's passage that have immediate application in our day and age. First, notice that all of the pronouns listed are masculine (even in the NIV text we read, which is known for neutralizing gender as much as possible in its translations). I know that not all of our readers are fully complementarian (the view that men and women are equal image bearers of God, but have been given complementary roles in which men are called to lead in the home and church), but passages like today's show how difficult it is from a Biblical standpoint to make a case for women in church office. Secondly, Paul matter of factly indicates that there will be (or at least ought to be) men aspiring to be elders and deacons in the church. Unfortunately, that aspiration doesn't seem to be very prevalent in our churches. Rather than aspiring to serve on council, men often merely acquiesce to a term. It's not that our boys and young men today don't aspire to things; their dedication to sports and their careers show just how strongly they aspire to be at the top of the field athletically and professionally. Certainly these are not sinful desires in and of themselves. The Bible clearly teaches that we must strive to glorify God in every endeavor of life (1 Corinthians 10:31), but it reserves language like aspire and eagerly desire (1 Corinthians 12:31) for those who seek to serve Christ's Church. Our church (and Christian school) communities need to start channeling boys' natural inclination to aspire to greatness away from the fleeting passions of the world and towards the leadership positions that God calls them to in their families and the Church. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls all people, especially elders who shepherd His Church, to be above reproach; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that in whatever relationship you have to boys and young men, you can encourage them to aspire to greatness in Christ's church as godly leaders; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 5

Deacons must be "men known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom." Acts 6:1-7 - (NIV) In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2  So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3  Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4  and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5  This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6  They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7  So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. Summary It didn't take long in the early church for problems to crop up. In this case, the challenge of caring for widows was exasperated by the underlying racial tension: the Hellenists (Greek) vs. the Hebrews. You can imagine the tension present as the Apostles were often interrupted from times of prayer, preaching and teaching in order to figure out the logistics of making sure everyone got the same amount of supper. Often times fast growing organizations - whether churches, schools or businesses - become victims of their own success. The rapid growth often turns otherwise solvable problems into overwhelming issues. When the distractions end up causing leadership to lose its focus on the core mission, the growth loses its momentum and the organization quickly implodes under its own weight. The Apostles, guided in wisdom by the Holy Spirit, realized the danger this sort of distraction posed and moved quickly to solve the problem. They knew that that the ministry of the Word of God must not be compromised, but they also wanted all of the widows to be properly cared for. The decided to delegate the task, and in doing so they added a new 'office' to the new church. They appointed diakonos (deacons), a word that literally means servants for the congregation. Dig Deeper Often times in our own contexts, we tend to think of the office of deacon as sort of the JV team of elders. They're often younger men who are tasked with the church's more practical issues like benevolence, budgeting and bill paying. The truly spiritual issues seem to be reserved for the more seasoned elders. But that's not how the Apostles understood it. They weren't looking for men with a business background who knew how to organize and get things done, they were looking for men who were known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. And it would be one of these seven deacons, Stephen, who would become the Church's first martyr when he was stoned by the Establishment after eloquently showing them how the entire Old Testament points to Christ. The Church will always face challenges until the Lord returns, both internal issues and external persecution. But one of the lessons we learn from the early Church as we read about in Acts is that when she stays focused on the ministry of the Word , God carries her through the challenges so that His Word spreads and more and more become obedient to the faith. Certainly elders and deacons have different responsibilities in carrying out their call, but they have one big thing in common: both must be men known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls His Church to remain faithful to her task despite ongoing challenges; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you'll faithfully serve the Church in the calling God has given you and that your church will not be distracted from the ministry of the Word; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 4