a report live-blogged by Andy Naselli

March 24 and 26, 2009 | Dr. Greg Waybright | Lake Avenue Evangelical Free Church, Pasadena, CA

The Center is pleased to welcome Trinity’s former president back to campus.  Dr. Waybright will cover the subject of ecclesiology through consideration of two passages in Ephesians. His talks are entitled “The Dream Church.”  His first sermon will cover Ephesians 1:3-14 and is entitled “God’s Idea–Not Mine,” while his second will cover Ephesians 2:11-22 and is entitled “From Dream to Reality.”

Introduction

Eph 2:11–22 is one of the greatest texts in the Bible about the church. Contrast George Barna’s conclusions about the local church, which he calls “a much more privatized spirituality.” God’s vision for his church is much bigger than a privatized spirituality can ever bring about. God has called us into his unexpected family in order to worship him, serve him, and declare his glory together.

1. What did God have to do to begin his masterpiece (Eph 2:11–18)?

Note that 2:11 begins with “therefore.” Remember that we were dead (2:1–3) and that God has rescued us (2:4–10). We are God’s masterpiece. “Therefore” (2:11):

• Relationship 1: Sinful people had to be reconciled to a holy God.
• Relationship 2: Hostile people (i.e., Gentiles and Jews) had to be reconciled to one another (cf. Rom 15:5–7).

2. So then, what is the church, this masterpiece of God (Eph 2:19–22)?

Three powerful images (that go increasingly deeper):

• The church is a new citizenship (2:19).
• The church is a new family (2:19b–21). We have a Father who ties us all together.
• The church is where God “lives” (2:22). Just like the tabernacle and temple were the locus of where God lived in the OT, the church is the locus of where God lives now.

Conclusion

When Dr. Waybright preached this sermon last fall at his church (Lake Avenue Evangelical Free Church in Pasadena, CA), he told them about his dream for them. He wants people to see their unity in diversity and wonder, “How on earth they all get together?” and “So that’s what God is like. God must be in that place.” Waybright is dreaming and praying that Lake Avenue Church will look like Eph 2:11–22. We “are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (2:22). May it be so to his glory. Amen.

a report live-blogged by Andy Naselli

March 24 and 26, 2009 | Dr. Greg Waybright | Lake Avenue Evangelical Free Church, Pasadena, CA

The Center is pleased to welcome Trinity’s former president back to campus.  Dr. Waybright will cover the subject of ecclesiology through consideration of two passages in Ephesians. His talks are entitled “The Dream Church.”  His first sermon will cover Ephesians 1:3-14 and is entitled “God’s Idea–Not Mine,” while his second will cover Ephesians 2:11-22 and is entitled “From Dream to Reality.”

Introduction

You should learn to love the church as she is, not just as you want her to be! You should have a renewed sense of thrill of being in God’s family. God has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3).

Paul shares four thrilling realities in Eph 1:3–8: (more…)

a report live-blogged by Andy Naselli

The Henry Center is sponsoring the following event:

March 18-19, 2009 | Esther Meek

Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA

“Knowing Knowing, Knowing God: Contours of Covenant Epistemology”

Most people have never had a philosophy course; that doesn’t keep them from practicing philosophy. We all inherit “default settings,” unexamined presumptions about what knowing is, which are proving unhealthy and unbiblical. They infect every dimension of human life, including knowing God. “Epistemological therapy” thus holds the prospect of favorably impacting everything from business to Christian discipleship, athletics to scientific research. This lecture will introduce you to Meek’s “covenant epistemology,” centrally the proposal that we take, as our paradigm of all human knowing, the transformative, interpersonal, covenantally-featured relationship. We will explore its key features and the ways it accords with the Christian Scripture, commending its value for reshaping the way we engage the world, and restoring us to ourselves. (more…)

As the Henry Center approaches the close of the 2008-09 year, we take a peek at next year’s high-powered calendar.

On September 8-15, 2009 at TEDS (Deerfield, IL), Dr. Stephen Williams of Union Theological College in Belfast, Ireland will give the Center’s Kantzer Lectures on Revealed Theology.  All lectures will be free and open to the public.  The series will be published with Eerdmans.  We are pleased to give the following information about these important lectures.

Series Title: The Election of Grace: a Riddle without Resolution?

Lectures on election with special reference to Karl Barth, the Bible, and the pastoral function of the doctrine.

Series Outline

Lecture One The different ways of understanding God that surface in debates about election.

Lecture Two A lecture on Barth on election integrated with Barth’s views on Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.

Lecture Three The question of election as a determination of destiny, specifically, the problem of perseverance.

Lecture Four The question of election and particular atonement, working from the John Owen/McLeod Campbell debate.

Lecture Five Election, regeneration and faith.

Lecture Six An exposition of Romans 9-11 offering a positive proposal on election, prepared for in lectures 1-5.