Infant baptism is usually the last doctrine to be embraced by those wrestling though Covenant Theology. (Reformed practice and understanding of the recipients of baptism and why they receive it separates our theology from other competing systems.) Rome, Lutherans, and Anglicans/Episcopalians suggest that baptism is to be administered to infants either for the purpose of …
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Infant Baptism – Part I
Posted Jun 12th, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No Comments -
Baptism – Part II
Posted Jun 5th, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsLast week, we learned that through baptism God is actually at work, signing and sealing his covenant of grace to us and adopting us into his family. The language of signs and seals may be foreign to the 21st century reader. Let’s unpack them. First, though, let’s state the obvious. By applying the scriptural language …
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Baptism
Posted May 31st, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsThere are several differences between our understanding of baptism and those in other branches of Christendom. Consider the mode of baptism. Some baptize by immersion and others prefer sprinkling or pouring. Similarly, consider the subjects of baptism. Some baptize on profession of faith only (i.e., adult converts) while others also baptize the children of believers. …
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Public Reception of New Members
Posted May 21st, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsThis week we will be receiving a number of people who have joined our fellowship, so this WWDWWD will focus on church membership. Shortly after my conversion I was part of a church that rejected the idea of church membership. Couple this idea with the low commitment level that permeates Southern California and public reception …
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Confession of Faith – part 2
Posted May 14th, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsLast week we looked at what exactly the confessions are. Today we will try to answer the question of why we use them. Let’s focus on five reasons. First, the Bible includes within it confessions and affirmations of faith. In the pages of Scripture we find that the church was not taught a string of …
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Confession of Faith
Posted May 14th, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsLast year we used the Children’s Catechism and Westminster Shorter Catechism as a means of affirming and confessing our faith. We have also used the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. And this year we are using the Heidelberg Catechism. This practice raises a number of questions. This week we will tackle the questions, “What …
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Assurance Of Pardon
Posted Apr 30th, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsHaving confessed our sins is there a way to know that we are forgiven? The assurance of forgiveness comes from the pronouncement of the minister: “Your sins are forgiven.” If the confession of sin makes low-church evangelicals uncomfortable, the assurance of pardon makes them downright concerned. Can the minister really pardon sins? That is the …
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The Confession of Sin
Posted Apr 23rd, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsAn element of traditional worship has curiously dropped out of much Protestant worship. I am speaking of the confession of sin. After my conversion I never attended a church service wherein the congregation confessed their sins during worship until coming to New Life. For many, the confession of sin smacks of sacerdotalism, at best, and …
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Regulated By Scripture II
Posted Apr 16th, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No CommentsRecently I had an interesting and enlightening experience. One of our high school students was given the opportunity to receive extra credit for a class if she would attend an Ash Wednesday service. So I took Trinity along and we joined her family in attendance at a local Episcopal Church. You might be thinking my …
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Regulated by Scripture I
Posted Apr 2nd, 2009 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | No Comments
These are not good days for worship in evangelical and mainline churches. While the Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and high-church Episcopalians/Anglicans have for the most part stuck with their traditions, evangelical and mainline churches have opted for a “newer” and “fresher” approach. There seems to be no end to their “creativity.” I have been awestruck by …
