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This summer Dr. James Anderson of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte will be joining Dr. Nathan Sasser for a worldview conference at SGC (July 26–28, 2019). To give you a brief introduction to Dr. Anderson, here is a short video he did to provide some guidance on how to respond to the issue of transgenderism

We had a snafu Sunday so here are the sermon notes as a blog post, since there's no Podcast.

There are two obvious obstacles to consistent and meaningful devotions that I will mention briefly before moving on: (1) sin and (2) lack of affection 

1. In prayer, reading, and meditation we make eye-contact with God. And, like a child with his earthly father, when we are in habitual, secret, unrepentant, sin we are loathed to make eye-contact with our heavenly Father. Repent, walk in the light. Draw near to Him and he will draw near to you. 
2. If you do not truly love God, if your emotions, affections, and joy are not securely engaged and tied up in right…

In January 1935, J. Gresham Machen gave a series of radio messages “on the deity of Christ.” This was only a month after the New York Times reported that his church trial (not criminal) would begin in the PCUSA (Presbyterian Church, USA). He was put on trial for taking a stand against using the church's money to fund missionaries like Pearl S. Buck, who didn't believe in the virgin birth or the deity of Christ and didn't feel such issues should be part of the gospel message on the mission field.

Many of our shoeboxes we packed last year were tracked to Togo and included a soccer ball and other items identical to the items in Kevin's shoebox. Through an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift and The Greatest Journey discipleship program, God opened the hearts of Kevin and his family to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's why we love Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes which are effective tools to not only reach children but to multiply the Gospel to family and community.

Every so many years I find myself once again wrestling with complementarianism. My agreement with the foundational theology behind complementarianism doesn’t change, but how it works itself out in the season I am in does change.

This week the elders went to Orlando for the annual SG Pastors Conference (teachings are all here). How encouraging to hear about God’s work throughout the world and to be challenged in so many ways! It was the most edifying conference we’ve had in years and reminded us of the gift of partnership.

“I am single. I am complementarian. A lot of times people don’t see how those things go hand in hand.”

That’s how Katie Van Dyke begins her article, “Complementarianism and the Single Woman.”  She goes on to make several points useful to explore as we continue this series on complementarianism.

Our series on complementarianism has unpacked Genesis 1–3 and much of what it teaches on men, women, marriage, and sin. The alternative view is called egalitarianism, a view that sees men and women as not just "equal" in significance and essence but also in their roles in a marriage or the church. In this post we turn from the family to the church. How does gender impact what God calls us to in the church? That's the question before us. 

Adam and Eve teach us volumes about God's intentions for men and women and marriage. The paradise of Eden was a place where the first man and the first woman enjoyed a marriage entirely free of sin. We can't say how long this sinless harmony lasted, but for at least a moment the man was the head of his home and the woman his happy helpmate, and both were in peaceful fellowship with the living God. But in this third installment in our series we'll see the darkness of the fall descend.