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A Battle For Our Souls


JI Packer wrote in Knowing God, "Disregard the study of God and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul."

Fraternal begins next Wednesday, September 12 at 7pm in the Library and I invite the men of Five Points to lock arms with each other in the fight for faith and the battle for our souls as we begin a study of the Doctrine of God. The task ahead is no easy sledding and we will make a number of commitments to one another next Wednesday, but studying the person, nature and character of God is the most practical activity a person can engage in. The digging will be hard, but the reward is beyond what you can imagine!

The cost is $75 for the year, which covers the books and materials for the class. Please sign up here so we can be prepared with your materials for our time together. If for some reason are not able to register online early, you may register at the door on September 12 and we'll get you your materials as soon as possible. Also, if the cost associated with the class is the only reason you are not signing up, please contact me so we can work together to enable your attendance. I ask everyone to join us in prayer that as we set our faces towards seeking Him in His Word, God would graciously reveal His glory to us and change us from one degree of glory to the next.


Dig in Together This Fall


Fall is just around the corner and I am excited for the many different classes that will be starting up on September 9. Let me highlight for you some of the opportunities you will have to connect with others in digging into God's word.

We will continue with a full spread of Bible Study Hour classes for adults. Pastor JJ will be teaching a class called "God Saves: Studies in Jonah & Hosea" (Room I/J), highlighting how these often-obscured prophets clearly anticipate Christ. One of our elders, Mike Houston, will continue to partner with Eric Leiendecker in leading the College & Career class through the Letter to the Colossians (Room A). Another elder, Dick Mills, will be teaching an expositional or topical study in the Sanctuary. Cindy Verner will continue teaching the women's class in the Gospel of John (Room D). And I will have the privilege of walking through redemptive history, looking at how God is working to establish his people in his place with his presence by creating his kingdom through a covenant (Room C).

And while we will mainly focus on the deep truths of God’s word on Sunday mornings, we will consider how those truths impact our daily lives at our Evening Family Gatherings. Pastor Brent will be teaching a class titled, "Marriage: A Marvelous Mystery" (Sanctuary). Elder Mark Kakkuri will teach "Apologetics to the Glory of God" (Rooms I & J), and Ken Whitely will be teaching the class "The Fruitful Credit of Faithful Finances" (Rooms C & D).

And of course, classes for children and students will be held during the same times as well.

Consider joining us as we pursue joy in Christ alone through the study and application of his word together.


Fraternal


"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God."
-A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 1

What is the chief end of man? To glorify God by enjoying Him forever. It is an understatement of epic proportions to say that there is no greater subject to study than the doctrine of God. The very heart and soul of theology—indeed all of life, meaning, and truth— is centered on the glorious Triune God of the Bible. The greatest need in the Church today is for its people to be God-centered. If we want to glorify God by finding all our satisfaction and joy in Him alone, we must become God-centered.

Beginning September 12, we invite the men of Five Points to join us as we plumb the depths of God's glorious revelation of Himself in His Word on the second Wednesday of every month at 7pm. We will band together to push each other Godward, for His glory and our joy. Through reading, memorizing Scripture, theological reflection and biblical discussion, we we will pursue our joy in God as we gather together to know Him in all of His glory and splendor.

This is no journey for the faint of heart as we will commit to our fellow Fraternal brothers in spurring one another on to find in all God all our joy, laboring for His glory in our study of this grand doctrine. The cost is $75, which will cover all materials for the entire year. Registration can be found here and more information can be found throughout the year here.


Honoring Shadows for the Sake of the Light


When the Apostle Peter assumes believers call God our Father, he means for us to pray to him, to fear him with holy fear and to obey him even when it is hard. Listen to I Peter 1:17, “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile…”.

Many see that we are to call God Father and define it as a metaphor. Calling God our Father, they say, employs a metaphor for us that we can understand because each of us had a real father on earth. They hold that God is metaphorically our father, so we can relate to him with love and respect as we do our human fathers.

Actually the exact opposite is true. All earthly fathers are metaphors for the one true and eternal Father, who is Almighty God. How do I know this? I know it because God is the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at how Peter begins his message:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (I Peter 1:3). God is Father to Christ and has been forever.

When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane praying as with drops of blood he prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). He did not call God his Father just as a word-picture - it is true! He is the eternal Son, and God is His eternal Father.

All human fatherhood is the metaphor, the shadow, pointing to the one true and ultimate Father, the Sovereign God of heaven and earth.

No matter what kind of earthly father you have, honor him. Give thanks for him. Tell him you love him, not because he is perfect. But because he is the shadow and his very existence points you to the light in the face of the true Father. Come to the first Father by faith in His eternal Son, Jesus Christ. 


Fellowship In The Gospel Conference


This weekend, Pastor Brent will be speaking at a men's conference hosted by Berean Baptist Church in Livonia titled Fellowship In The Gospel. Its purpose is to gather men for fellowship around the power and centrality of the gospel.

Rico Tice is the keynote speaker. He is founder of Christianity Explored and also a pastor at All Souls Church in London serving alongside John Stott. Breakout sessions will be held by Sidney Greidanus of Calvin Theological Seminary, Matt Herron of Immanuel Baptist Church in Traverse City, Bob Johnson of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Gary Papp of Berean Baptist Church and Pastor Brent.

Pre-Registration has been closed, but you may register at the door. For more information, visit the Fellowship In The Gospel website.


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