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V O L U M E 3 4 | I S S U E 6 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2017 the PERSONALVisionary PIETY Your Personal Piety is Dependent on …………. 2 Building Men at WRPC ································ 14 Why is the Lord’s Day Holy? ·························· 4 Missions Update ········································· 15 The Private Duty and Privilege of Prayer ······· 6 Let the Redeemed of the Lord, Say So! ······ 16 WIC Report ···················································· 8 Minutes & Actions of the Session ··············· 20 What They’re Reading ································· 10 Treasurer’s Report ······································ 21 New Members ············································· 12 Your Personal Piety is Dependent Upon Your Use of Scripture Pastor Carl Robbins In this issue of The Visionary the pastors of Jesus said, “’Man does not live by bread alone, but by WRPC will each be addressing a different every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”? spiritual discipline. I am speaking (briefly) to the (Matt. 4:4) Surely, He intends for us to read every basic premise: Your personal piety is dependent word! upon your use of the scriptures. The scriptures We only have to be realistic and honest with are the means to godliness and maturity. ourselves to know how regularly we need to turn Ours is an incredibly undisciplined age which to the Bible. Since we face problems, temptations, shows up even in (especially in) the church. Oh, and pressures every day, we need wisdom, there are many who are disciplined about their instruction, guidance, and encouragement from physical fitness, their golf game, their career the Bible every day. advancement, or their financial goals, but not about their advancement in godliness. Godly, The Word: Studying it mature men are always disciplined men. There If reading the Bible can be compared to are no exceptions. Didn’t Jesus say, “’If anyone cruising across a lake in a motorboat (an desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and overview and a swift passing view of its depth), take up his cross daily, and follow me.’”? (Luke 9:23) then studying the Bible is like slowly crossing the Self-discipline is a heart issue and should be lake in a glass bottomed rowboat. We have great recognized as such. If a person knows that the models of Bible students in the Bereans (Acts 17). Bible, consistently studied, will yield the rich Why do men today fail to study the Bible? Not fruits of maturity, holiness, and wisdom, and still because it is dull or difficult to understand, but does not read and study it, what does that say because it is work! The problem is not a lack of about them? intelligence or even study resources – it is Let’s talk about all the different ways you laziness. should be taking in the Word of God: The Word: Meditating upon it The Word: Hearing it One of the busiest men in the history of This is the easiest of all the spiritual disciplines: civilization was Joshua. He was the military, Simply placing yourself under the preaching and political, and economic leader of an embattled teaching of the Bible. Do you purpose to be under country and a busy husband and father – but he the ministry of the Word weekly on Sunday was not too busy to meditate on the Scriptures! morning, Sunday evening, and Sunday School? God commands him (Josh. 1) to give himself to Jesus said, “’Blessed are those who hear the Word of meditation. David was an even busier man: God….’” (Luke 11:28) general, musician, builder, and King. But, he also commends the practice of meditation upon the The Word: Reading it Scriptures. When I use the word ‘meditation’ 76% of evangelicals never open their Bibles don’t think of the New Age form (passively except between 9 a.m. and noon on Sundays! emptying your mind). Christian meditation Why is this when Jesus often asked questions involves filling your mind with a text of Scripture that began with, “’Have you not read?’” (Matt. 12:1 and actively thinking, memorizing, reflecting, -5; 19:3-4; 21:14-16; 21:40-44) Why is this when and praying the text. If hearing the Word is like 2 THE VISIONARY | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2017 one dip of a tea bag into a cup of hot water, then studying would represent a second and third dunk of the tea bag. But meditation would be like immersing the tea bag completely and letting it steep until all the rich tea flavor has been Preparing for the extracted and the hot water is thoroughly tinctured brown. Worship of God How often have you done your perfunctory Bible reading in the morning and by lunch realized you couldn’t even remember what you You cannot prepare adequately just read? That’s because there was no in-depth study before worship if you are late in of the text, no memorization of it, and no meditation upon it. arriving. At Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church we start our worship service at 9:30 AM, so if Pastor Carl Robbins [email protected] you are parking the car at that time you’ll miss the beginning of worship. Plan to be in your seat, preparing your heart and mind, at least five minutes before the worship starts. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2017 | THE VISIONARY 3 Why is the Lord’s Day Holy? Pastor Dan Dodds When you were young your parents likely had law exposes our sins and our need for a Savior. a list of do’s and don’ts that were reinforced The second reason for the law is for civil verbally (and/or even corporally!). You had a application, i.e., the law provides a code of sense that you were supposed to do what they conduct by which people in society are to govern said even though you may not have understood themselves and one another. The third reason for their reasoning; their authority as parents the law is our sanctification – so that we might sufficed to justify their commands. grow in holiness. But as you got older you began to question Okay, but what about the Lord’s Day, why some of those rules. “Why can’t I jump out the keep it holy? Well, besides the reasons above, window?” “Why do we have to go to bed so there are at least three more good reasons to keep early?” Sometimes, the answers made good the Lord’s Day holy. sense: “Because we live on the third floor and First, God said to. Do we need to go any you’ll crack your head open.” At other times, the further? Any time God commands us to do answers seemed a little stretched or without something, our first response should be “yes Sir” merit: “I need you to go to bed because I’m even if we have questions. We teach this to our tired.” (I will say that last one makes a lot more children – “Say ‘yes sir’ first and then ask your sense to me now as a parent!!) questions.” Given Who God is – and who we are What can be observed in the life of a child is – the only right response is an enthusiastic “yes!”. true also in the life of a Christian. We see a But there are other reasons. We need to keep command in Scripture, such as, “you shall not the day holy as a way to point to and murder,” and we accept it at face value because demonstrate the heavenly rest that we will one we know we are not supposed to question God day enjoy. Each Lord’s Day is a mini practice and it makes sense anyway not to haphazardly session for eternity, as we have a day dedicated reduce the population. So far so good. to worship and rest from our labors. Wouldn’t it But later, we come across commands that rub be a shame to refuse this weekly gift and practice us the wrong way, laws that perhaps hit a little session just so that we could go tailgating or close to home; they make us uncomfortable and make a little more money? It destroys the picture the questions begin. “Does this still apply of heaven, doesn’t it? The culture around us, let today?” “Why did God command this?” “I think alone our children, will not have that valuable God is mainly concerned with the heart, don’t weekly reminder that all of the stuff they put up you?” with day in and day out is for a purpose – the Perhaps one of the best examples of this in the glorious future of heavenly rest. church today is the issue of keeping the Lord’s When we treat the Lord’s Day like any other Day holy. Huh? Are we still supposed to keep the day, we are proclaiming that there is nothing Lord’s Day holy? Why? Scripture gives us three beyond what we have right here and now. Given reasons that God has (graciously) revealed the that premise, we might as well get one more day law to us. of what we already have; why waste it in The first reason is that the law reveals the worship? holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. The 4 THE VISIONARY | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2017 But there is another reason that we should observe the Lord’s Day and keep it holy. Maybe the first two reasons made you think, “Ok, guess I’ll have to put off my agenda for God’s – that’s Preparing for the what I got when I signed up as a Christian, so I suppose I’ll have to do my duty even though I don’t really want to.” This kind of response Worship of God betrays the seriously flawed thinking that somehow our joy and God’s laws are at odds You cannot expect to rush into with one another – may it never be!!! In fact, church after an exhausting Saturday Scripture is clear that our obedience to His laws are the pathway to OUR joy! (Ps.

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