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Dispatches from the Front

Next Sunday we will be starting a new Sunday School series called Dispatches from the Front.  This is a series of DVD’s that describes the advance of God’s kingdom to the far corners of the earth.  Each episode shows the way in which God is working on the “frontlines” and shows us the extent, diversity, and unity of His people.  We will follow Tim Keesee as he visits brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe.  Click here to see what people are saying about this series.

We plan to watch an episode each week (or parts of an episode) followed by a short discussion.  Please try to join us at 9:30 at Pasadena EP Church!

The first episode is entitled “Islands on the Edge: Southeast Asia”.  Here is a short description from the publisher and an excerpt from the episode:

A pioneer missionary once wrote, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell.” Dispatches from the Front: Islands on the Edge takes you where there are no church buildings or chapel bells, yet the Gospel is unstoppable and Christ’s Kingdom is advancing even in the face of persecution, desperate poverty, and Asia’s secret slave trade. Travel to the islands of Southeast Asia––from the towering city of Singapore to the squalid encampments of Borneo. Ferry through Cambodia’s remote river country, visit a Buddhist monastery where people with AIDS are living and dying, and rejoice with new believers in a house church in Indonesia.
Here is an inside look at the radical rescue work of the Gospel on the frontier of human need.

Excerpt – Episode 1: Islands on the Edge from Frontline Missions International on Vimeo.

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Repost: Ten Years of Expository Preaching at Pasadena EP

Several months ago we put together a video to recognize ten years of expository preaching from Pastor Tom Wenger Sr.  The video shows the passage, date, and title for over 400 sermons that he has preached.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Ten Years of Expository Preaching at Pasadena EP Church from Pasadena EP Church on Vimeo.

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Review: His Blood Works

Here’s another review that Pastor Tom wrote last year.  His review of Alan Stibbs’ book His Blood Works: The Meaning of the Word ‘Blood’ in Scripture originally appeared in the PEP Talk.

In this brief little book (83 small pages) Stibbs examines the uses of blood in both Old and New Testaments, proving clearly that the meaning is not the impartation of life but rather that a life has been surrendered.   This is crucial to the proper understanding of the Atonement.  The attack he is addressing is from a liberal persuasion which says that the blood is a representation of life transferred to us not as a sacrifice of life given by a substitute. In his conclusion Stibbs says:
All these four significances of ‘blood’ as shed meet in the cross of Christ. There the Son of Man in our flesh and blood for us men and for our salvation made the greatest offering. He gave His life (see John 10:17-18). Second, He became the victim of mankind’s greatest crime. He was vilely and unjustly put to death. Third, ‘He was reckoned with transgressors’ (Luke 22:37 RV, from Is. 53:12) and endured the extreme penalty of the wrongdoer. The hand of the law and of the Roman magistrate put Him to death. By man was His blood shed. Fourth, He as God made flesh gave, as He alone could do, His human blood to make atonement. Repentance and remission of sins can, therefore, now be preached in His Name. We are justified by His blood.
This is a brief but worthwhile study – I recommend it to you.
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Matter, Mind, Math, and Meaning: Did Science Kill God?

This Friday night, Andover Baptist church in Linthicum will be hosting a lecture and discussion led by John Byl (Ph.D. in Astronomy and winner of a 1999 Templeton Science and Religion Course Award).  The lecture is entitled “Matter, Mind, Math,and Meaning: Did Science Kill God?” and will began at 7pm on October 12th at 1009 Andover Road, Linthicum, MD.  Here is more from Andover’s website:

We live in a world of relative comfort and historically unprecedented longevity, health, wealth, and ease. Standing behind all the technological glory of modernity—iPods, transcontinental flights, and cell phones—is science. Her reign is almost total and seems to be unstoppably progressive. Science rules.

But did science kill God? Did the cumulative effect of technological developments in scientific instruments, harnessing the power of nature, and medical advances necessitate the dwindling of the God concept?  Doesn’t a bit of education and a dose of common sense require that God be dead or at best a psychological comfort for the weak, the simple, and the uneducated?  And if science didn’t kill God, why not?

All are invited, but especially professional scientists and mathematicians and those interested in the intersection of science and faith. The event is hosted by Andover Baptist Church.

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Dust off your skates

Come on out for the first Roller Skating session of the season! We are skating Saturday, November 3rd from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Pasadena Roller Skating Center on Mountain Road. The cost is $5 a person, plus skate rental. You can bring your roller blades, and there is no charge if you are just coming to watch. We play family-friendly music, so come on out for a good time!

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The Birthright: Out of the Servant’s Quarters and into the Father’s House

Last spring Pastor Tom was recovering from surgery.  He caught up on some reading and then posted reviews to the PEP Talk.  Here is Pastor Tom’s review of John Sheasby’s book The Birthright: Out of the Servant’s Quarters and into the Father’s House.

The author was a pastor in South Africa and for years he labored for a long time
under what he calls the mindset of a servant. Now we would all agree that serving God is a good thing. But he was task-oriented and reward-focused. It led him to despair. He had grown up in a strict and demanding family and transferred most of this to God. He labored in an unhealthy fear.

He decided to take a personal retreat away from everyone in order to read, pray
and meditate on the Word. What started to become clear was his distorted
understanding of his position in Christ. He began to discover his own position as
a son of God. He discovered a new understanding of who God is, and what it
means to dwell in the Father’s house.

This is a refreshing book – full of the Gospel. It’s a short, easy read and will
encourage you in your position as a son of God.

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Thanksgiving Parade

A float from the 2012 parade [Image from Pasadena Patch, Credit: Yvonne Lawson]
Pasadena will be hosting its 17th annual Thanksgiving parade on November 4.  The parade route passes right in front of the church.  This year we’ll have some free refreshments and games for the kids.  We’re also hoping to have an entry in the parade.  So come join us on Sunday November 4!  Worship is at 11 am at 7975 Tick Neck Road.  Immediately following worship we’ll have refreshments and games in the front yard of the church.  The parade starts at 2 pm.

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Our Salvation

This Sunday Pastor Tom preached a sermon on 1 Peter 1:8-9 entitled Our Salvation.  Here are some study questions to consider this week:

  • Read 1 Peter 1 and review your sermon notes.  Why is it important that we recognize that Christ is not physically present with us?
  • Read 2 Peter 3.  What is kept in store for us?  Why would this lead us to joy now?
  • Read Acts 16.  What was the jailer commanded to do?  Had he ever seen Jesus?  How then was this command possible?

If you missed the sermon, you can listen to it here:

[mejsaudio src=”http://pasadena-ep.org/wp-content/uploads/sermons/tom_2012-09-23_Our_Salvation.mp3″]

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Deacon & Mercy Training

Last summer, Pasadena EP Church hosted a conference on mercy ministry.  Dr. David Apple from Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia was our speaker.  He gave two talks: The ABCs of Mercy Ministry and How to deal with cold calls and walk-ins.  Unfortunately we didn’t save the recordings properly so we can’t post them here (though there are some related recordings from Dr. Apple here).

Next month, Tenth Presbyterian and MercyNet will be hosting two sessions on Mercy Ministry at Westminster Seminary (Van Til Hall, Church Road, Glenside, PA).  Here is some more information:

What is Mercy Ministry (Sat, Oct 6)?

  • The essential work of the deacon
  • The type and scope of ministry
  • Word and Deed Together
  • There is no mercy without evangelism

 

What is a Trauma Deacon (Sat, Oct 27)?

  • We can figure this out, right?
  • Managing ministry effectively
  • Learning to work smarter
  • What other churches are doing

 

According to the brochure, these sessions are for deacons, elders, future elders, Christian servants, those with the gifts of service and mercy, and those who have “retired to serve”.  For more information, contact David Apple (dapple at tenth dot org).

 

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Calvin on First Peter

To prepare for the series on First Peter, Pastor Tom has recommended looking up some background information on the letter, e.g. who wrote it, when, and why?

Here is an excerpt from Calvin’s introduction to his commentary on First Peter (full text available here).

 The design of Peter in this Epistle is to exhort the faithful to a denial of the world and a contempt of it, so that being freed from carnal affections and all earthly hindrances, they might with their whole soul aspire after the celestial kingdom of Christ, that being elevated by hope, supported by patience, and fortified by courage and perseverance, they might overcome all kinds of temptations, and pursue this course and practice throughout life.

This Sunday’s sermon will address 1 Peter 1:1-2.  Here are a couple questions to consider:

  • What does Ephesians 1 say about our being chosen?  What comfort is this to a believer?
  • Read Hebrews 9.  What is the significance of the sprinkled Blood?  How does this direct us to Christ?